# Buy or sell a Telegram username

How collectible usernames are bought and sold on Fragment, and why deals outside it are risky.

https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/buy-telegram-username

Updated 2026-10-02 · 7 min read

Telegram usernames (@username) are bought and sold on [Fragment](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/fragment), an auction and marketplace platform that works in GRAM (formerly TON). A purchased name becomes a collectible: it is recorded on the TON blockchain against your wallet, not your account, and you assign it to a profile, group or channel. You can sell a name of your own by converting it into a collectible on Fragment, or resell a collectible you bought. An unclaimed name needs no purchase — you simply claim it in Telegram's settings.

## What collectible usernames are

A collectible username works like a basic one: people find it in search and it has a t.me/name link. According to the [Telegram FAQ](https://telegram.org/faq), you can sell it, assign it to a chat or keep it for later, and the blockchain confirms ownership. Basic usernames, by contrast, go to whoever claims them first.

- A profile, group or channel has one basic username and several collectible ones, each with its own t.me/name link.
- A basic username needs at least 5 characters, so four-letter names exist only as collectibles.
- Tap a collectible username on someone's profile and you can see when it was bought and for how much ([Telegram blog](https://telegram.org/blog/my-profile-and-15-more)).

## How to buy a username on Fragment

Search for the name on fragment.com and the site shows its stage. Statuses, per the [Fragment help page](https://fragment.com/about):

| Status | What it means and what to do |
| --- | --- |
| Available | can be bought: a bid starts a 7-day auction |
| On auction | an auction is running — you can bid |
| For sale | the owner sells at a fixed price, no auction — the "Buy" button purchases it at once |
| Sold | already sold — the page shows the ownership history |
| Taken | in use by an ordinary user — you can send an offer |

1. Get a TON wallet with GRAM, for example [Tonkeeper](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/tonkeeper) (now Keeper) or MyTonWallet. For where to get GRAM, see [GRAM, formerly TON](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/gram).
2. On fragment.com, connect your wallet ("Connect TON") and your Telegram account ("Connect Telegram").
3. Place a bid, or buy at once if the name has a fixed price.
4. The purchased name lands in your wallet: open "My Assets", tap "Assign to Telegram" and pick a profile, group or channel.
5. A freshly assigned name is not active — only you can see it. Turn it on in Telegram, in the username settings of your profile, group or channel ([Telegram documentation](https://core.telegram.org/api/fragment)).

> **Important:** You look after your own keys: under the [Fragment terms](https://fragment.com/terms) purchases are linked to your TON wallet and keeping access safe is your job. Lose the wallet's secret phrase and you lose the name. Check the address — the real site is fragment.com.

According to press reports, since November 2024 Fragment may ask buyers to pass an identity check through Sumsub; there is no official table of who needs it. More in [Fragment verification](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/fragment-verification).

### If the name you want is taken

- **A collectible that is not for sale:** Telegram cannot hand it over — only its owner decides. Tap "Subscribe to updates" on the name's page to get notified about it.
- **Held by an ordinary user:** use "Make an offer". For a small non-refundable fee it reaches the owner anonymously, but everyone can see which TON wallet made the offer.
- For a taken basic username, write to @Username_bot if you hold the same name on at least two of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram ([FAQ](https://telegram.org/faq)).

## How to sell a username on Fragment

You can sell the basic username of your profile and any collectible username in your wallet. The rules are on the [Fragment help page](https://fragment.com/about).

**A basic username:**

1. On fragment.com connect your Telegram account and your wallet — the proceeds go to it.
2. Tap the connected wallet, choose "Convert to Collectibles" and pick the name.
3. Set a minimum bid and, if you like, a maximum price: whoever pays it buys the name at once.
4. Confirm in Telegram — the @fragment bot sends the request — then tap "Create Auction".

**A collectible in your wallet:** on "My Assets" choose "Put up for auction" (auction) or "Sell" (sale at a fixed price).

The first bid starts a 7-day auction. You can cancel only before the first bid, and listing is irreversible. Under the [Fragment terms](https://fragment.com/terms), the owner of a collectible may also sell it on other platforms, such as Getgems.

Fragment keeps 5% of each sale, plus a one-time 5 GRAM taken from the first auction's proceeds for converting a basic name into a collectible, plus a small network fee (about 1 GRAM). If you cannot list a name, there are usually two causes: two-step verification (the cloud password) is not enabled on your account, or you got or reassigned the name very recently.

## How much can you sell a username for

The market sets the price. On Fragment the "Sold" filter with "Price high to low" shows the biggest sales, and a name's page shows its ownership history.

For scale, as of 2 October 2026: the lowest fixed prices on Fragment were around 6 GRAM, and the largest sale was @danbao at 1,583,948 GRAM in February 2026. Four-letter words like @news, @auto and @bank sold for hundreds of thousands of GRAM in 2022. This is a one-day snapshot; see the [GRAM rate](https://shiba-bank.com/en/gram-rate).

## What you cannot sell, and why "selling an account" is risky

- **A basic username cannot be handed to a person.** A name that is released goes to the first person who claims it, so the "I release it, you claim it" arrangement rests on trust.
- **An account is not a username.** Per the [Telegram FAQ](https://telegram.org/faq), whoever has the phone number has the account. If the seller keeps the number or the recovery email, they can take the account back: the buyer loses the money and the name.
- **A deal for a name needs no access to your account:** not the login code, not the cloud password, not a wallet's secret phrase. Anyone asking for them "to check" or "through an escrow" is a scammer — see [Telegram scams](https://shiba-bank.com/en/guides/telegram-scams).

## If you need Stars or Premium, not a name

The Shiba Bank bot does not sell usernames. It buys Stars and Premium on Fragment itself from its own verified account: you do not pass Fragment's identity check, you only give the recipient's @username. The buttons are "⭐ Buy Stars" and "👑 Buy Premium".

[Buy Stars — Open the app](https://t.me/barboskich_stars_bot?startapp=site_ai_en_buy)

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I buy a username on Telegram?
Claim an unclaimed one in Telegram's settings; if it is taken but listed, buy it on fragment.com with GRAM.

### How do I sell a username on Telegram?
On fragment.com tap "Convert to Collectibles", choose the name and set a minimum bid. You need a connected wallet and a cloud password.

### How much can I sell a username for?
The market decides — check "Sold" on Fragment. As of 2 October 2026 the lowest fixed prices there were around 6 GRAM.

### Where can I sell usernames?
On Fragment; a collectible can also be sold on other TON marketplaces such as Getgems.

### What are collectible usernames?
Names recorded on the TON blockchain against the owner's wallet, which can be bought and sold.

### What is a Fragment username?
A collectible username sold on fragment.com: you buy it with GRAM and assign it to a profile, group or channel.

### Can I buy a second username?
Yes. A profile has one basic username, so the second one is a collectible: buy it on Fragment, assign it with "Assign to Telegram" and switch it on. The number of active usernames is limited — past the limit Telegram returns an error and one has to be switched off.