TL;DR
- Telegram announced the launch of a non-custodial wallet for its approximately 1 billion users this summer.
- Pavel Durov described the initiative as “the largest deployment of a non-custodial crypto wallet in the history of humanity”.
- The new native wallet will support transactions in GRAM, The Open Network’s token that recently rebranded from Toncoin.
The CEO and founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, announced that the messaging platform will launch this summer a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet, accessible to its entire user base, which stands at around 1 billion people. Durov described the initiative as “the largest deployment of a non-custodial crypto wallet in the history of humanity”, as he published on his own channel within the application.
A few weeks ago Durov announced the rebranding of Toncoin to GRAM, the native token of The Open Network. In that same move, Telegram displaced the TON Foundation from its role as the primary administrator of the ecosystem and took over directly as the network’s largest validator. The new native wallet will operate with this token and, as Durov previewed, will offer “instant crypto transactions with no fees“.
Telegram Takes The Reins
The platform already has a wallet called Wallet in Telegram, which at the beginning of 2026 reported more than 150 million registered users. This tool allows users to store and operate with digital assets in self-custody mode. However, the new initiative aims for a qualitatively different scale: integrating the functionality directly for all application users, without the need for additional configuration.
New Horizons
Telegram carries a complex history with cryptocurrencies. In 2018 it launched its TON project, but abandoned it two years later following a legal battle with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which ordered it to halt token sales after deeming them unregistered securities. The project’s resurrection under the new name and with ambitions of mass reach marks a transcendental shift for a company that historically commands an enormous and highly active audience within crypto assets.
Durov did not provide additional technical details on the exact date or implementation mechanisms, though he confirmed that the launch will take place during the summer of 2026.
