Highlights
- Telegram has begun rolling out its native Gram Wallet to a select group of users.
- Founder Pavel Durov says access will expand to Telegram's full base of over 1 billion users over the coming weeks.
- The wallet's underlying smart contract has been approved by TON validators, clearing a technical hurdle for wider distribution.
- The move builds on Durov's July 21, 2026 announcement of a non-custodial, zero-fee wallet built on the TON network.
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced on August 31, 2026 that the messaging app has begun rolling out Gram Wallet to a select group of users, with plans to gradually extend access to Telegram's entire base of more than 1 billion users over the coming weeks, according to a report from PANews. Durov said the smart contract underpinning the wallet has now been approved by the TON network's validators, a step that clears the way for the broader rollout to proceed.
From Announcement to Actual Rollout
The current phase follows Durov's initial announcement on July 21, 2026, when he first detailed plans for a native, non-custodial wallet built directly into Telegram, promising instant, zero-fee crypto transactions for the app's full user base. A non-custodial design means each wallet's private keys are generated and held locally on the user's own device — Telegram itself never has access to them, and each user is solely responsible for backing up their own recovery phrase. Validator approval of the underlying smart contract is a meaningful technical milestone specifically because it means future upgrades to the wallet's logic will not require every existing user to migrate funds into a new contract, a common friction point for large-scale wallet rollouts.
Related: ECB's Schnabel Says Central Bank Money Must Move Onto Blockchain
Why the Scale Here Is Different
Gram Wallet is built on the TON network, which Durov and his brother Nikolai originally launched in 2018 before Telegram withdrew direct involvement in 2020 following a dispute with US regulators. Telegram has since re-engaged with the network, becoming TON's largest validator earlier this year and rebranding the network's native token from Toncoin back to Gram in June. No non-custodial crypto wallet has ever launched with a potential user base approaching Telegram's scale on day one, which is precisely what makes even a phased rollout to “select users” a meaningfully different distribution event than a typical wallet launch — the addressable audience dwarfs the current user base of every existing self-custody wallet combined.
What Comes Next
The key milestone to watch is the pace of the phased expansion Durov described, since the gap between “select users” today and the full billion-plus rollout will determine how quickly Gram Wallet can translate access into actual usage. Any technical issues surfacing during this early phase would likely delay the broader timeline, while a smooth rollout would put pressure on competing wallet providers to match a distribution scale they cannot realistically replicate.
FAQ
What is Gram Wallet?
A native, non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet built into Telegram, running on the TON network, that Pavel Durov says will eventually be available to Telegram's full user base.
How many users can eventually access it?
Durov says the wallet will be extended to more than 1 billion Telegram users over the coming weeks, though it is currently live for only a select group.
What does validator approval of the smart contract mean?
TON network validators have approved the contract powering Gram Wallet, which means future upgrades can happen without requiring users to migrate to a new contract.
Is Gram Wallet custodial?
No. It is non-custodial, meaning private keys are generated and stored locally on each user's device rather than held by Telegram.
