Telegram founder Pavel Durov said on July 21 that the company will build a native, non-custodial Gram wallet into every version of its app this summer, promising instant, fee-free transfers for more than 1 billion users. Durov called it the largest rollout of a non-custodial crypto wallet in history. GRAM, the token formerly known as Toncoin, jumped roughly 8% on the news to trade near $1.53.

Inside Durov’s Gram Wallet Announcement

Durov posted the announcement from his account on X, writing that the coming release would mark “the largest rollout of a non-custodial crypto wallet in human history” and pledging zero-fee transactions for Telegram’s user base. He gave no firm launch date beyond “this summer” and released no technical documentation on how the wallet will handle key management or which assets it will support beyond Gram.

The new wallet is separate from Wallet in Telegram, the existing custodial wallet developed by The Open Platform (TOP). TOP founder Andrew Rogozov said the two will coexist, with Telegram Wallet serving as a simple gateway into crypto and the TOP-built product aimed at more advanced traders, according to BeInCrypto. The report also noted that the news comes about five weeks after GRAM’s rebrand from Toncoin and after the token had declined sharply through most of July.

What This Means for Telegram Users

For the roughly 1 billion people who already use Telegram, a built-in non-custodial wallet would remove the extra step of downloading a separate crypto app to hold or send Gram. It would also shift responsibility for asset security onto users themselves, since non-custodial wallets have no company backstop if a private key is lost or stolen. If you want a fuller picture of how self-custody wallets work, and what to weigh before adopting one, check out our guide to self-custodial wallets.

What to Watch Next

Two things will determine whether the rally holds and the rollout stays on track. First, whether GRAM holds above $1.40, the support level it bounced from earlier this week. Second, whether Telegram actually names a launch date. Durov’s X post only promised “this summer,” with no specifics beyond that.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.

What this means for you: If you use Telegram, a crypto wallet is coming, built directly into the app, meaning you’ll hold your own private keys instead of trusting an exchange or app to hold them for you. That’s more control, but it also means there’s no company to call if you lose access, so treat your recovery phrase with the same care you would cash you can’t replace.