Durov plans native Gram wallet for all Telegram apps

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Tuesday that the messaging app will roll out a built-in crypto wallet across every version of Telegram this summer. For everyday crypto investors, the headline is scale: Durov is talking about putting a self-custody wallet in an app with more than 1 billion monthly active users.

In a post on X, Durov said Telegram is bringing a native, non-custodial Gram wallet to every Telegram app, with instant and zero-fee crypto transactions for more than a billion users. A non-custodial wallet means the user controls the private keys, the passwords that allow crypto to move. In a custodial setup, a company holds those keys for the user.

The wallet is designed for Gram, Telegram’s native crypto, which was previously known as Toncoin, according to Decrypt. Gram rose roughly 7% after the announcement, Decrypt reported, though the token remains far below earlier levels and is down 88% from May.

Why the wallet structure matters

The difference between custodial and non-custodial wallets is central to how crypto ownership works. If a company holds the keys, users rely on that company to process withdrawals and protect funds. If users hold the keys themselves, they have more direct control, but also take on the responsibility of securing access.

Durov’s announcement also points to a shift in how Telegram would present crypto inside the app. Telegram already has a wallet product available through the @wallet bot, but that service is built and run by The Open Platform, a separate company from Telegram, according to Decrypt.

That existing wallet has more than 150 million registered users and operates partly in custodial mode, Decrypt reported. The planned Gram wallet would be native to Telegram, meaning it would be integrated into the app itself rather than accessed through a separate bot that users need to find and activate.

What investors are watching

For holders and traders of Gram, the announcement matters because distribution can affect attention and usage. A token linked to a product used by hundreds of millions of people can react quickly to news about easier access, especially when that access is inside an app people already use for messaging.

That does not guarantee adoption. Durov has announced the rollout target, but the practical details of how users will set up wallets, secure keys, and use zero-fee transfers were not laid out in the available announcement.

The near-term market reaction showed renewed interest in Gram, but the longer-term context is still mixed. Decrypt reported the token is down 88% from May levels, so the latest bounce comes after a much larger decline.

Durov framed the planned rollout as the largest non-custodial crypto wallet launch to date. If Telegram delivers it across all versions of the app this summer, the move would turn one of the world’s biggest messaging platforms into a major crypto access point overnight.

This story draws on original reporting from Decrypt.