Telegram starts rolling out built-in Gram wallet to a small user group, eyes 1 billion-plus reach

News Editor

2026-08-31 17:05:07

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on Aug. 31 that the built-in Gram wallet inside Telegram is ready and has begun rolling out to a small group of users, with a wider release planned over the coming weeks to the platform’s more than 1 billion users. The launch moves the product from July’s "summer launch" preview into an active deployment phase. Durov also highlighted a technical feature tied to the wallet’s smart contracts: because the contracts backing the wallet have been approved by validators, future upgrades will not require what he called a "painful migration." According to Telegram’s previously disclosed design, the wallet is non-custodial, users hold their own 24-word recovery phrase and private keys, and the product runs on the MyTonWallet engine. It is built directly into Telegram’s main app rather than being offered as a separate app or bot. The token name Gram refers to TON’s native token, renamed from Toncoin by Durov in June, reviving the branding that Telegram had dropped during its earlier SEC lawsuit period in 2019 and 2020.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on Aug. 31 on his official channel that the built-in Gram wallet inside Telegram is ready and has started opening to a small number of users. He said the rollout will expand over the coming weeks to Telegram’s more than 1 billion users.

The launch follows a July preview that said the wallet would go live in the summer. At the time, Durov described it as the largest non-custodial wallet deployment in history. With the first wave now live, the product has moved from announcement to release.

Validator-approved smart contracts remove migration step

Durov singled out one part of the wallet’s design in his post. He said the smart contracts powering the wallet have already been approved by validators, which means future upgrades will not require a "painful migration."

For non-custodial wallets, contract upgrades have often forced users to manually move assets into a new version. That process has long been a major point of friction.

Under Telegram’s previously published design, Gram wallet is non-custodial. Users keep their own 24-word recovery phrase and control their private keys. The wallet is built on the MyTonWallet engine. It is not a standalone app or a bot, but a core feature embedded directly into Telegram’s main application.

Gram is the renamed TON token

The "Gram" name refers to the native token of the TON blockchain. Durov renamed it from Toncoin to Gram in June this year. The name was Telegram’s original branding before it was dropped after the company’s lawsuit with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, in 2019 and 2020. It has now been brought back.

Rollout scale is a central market focus

The scale of distribution is a major reason the launch is drawing attention. Telegram has more than 1 billion users. If a non-custodial wallet becomes a default-ready feature for that user base, the barrier to self-custody for crypto assets is reduced.

In his July preview, Durov framed the wallet as the biggest non-custodial wallet rollout on record. This phased release is the first live step in that plan.

This article was originally published by Bit.Fan. For more cryptocurrency news and market insights, visit www.bit.fan.

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