Durov announces Telegram's Gram crypto wallet — coming to over a billion users

Telegram founder Pavel Durov has announced the launch of Gram, a built-in non-custodial crypto wallet rolling out across every version of the messenger this summer. The project's goal is instant, fee-free crypto transfers for Telegram's more than one billion users.

What Durov Said

"Instant, fee-free crypto transactions for over a billion users are about to become a reality," Durov wrote, describing the upcoming launch as "the largest deployment of a non-custodial wallet in history."

What "Non-Custodial" Means

A non-custodial model means users hold their own private keys, so funds can't be frozen, seized, or blocked by a third party without the owner's permission — unlike wallets where a company holds assets on the user's behalf and can technically restrict access to them.

The Cryptocurrency Behind the Wallet

The Gram wallet will run on Telegram's native cryptocurrency of the same name — a token that was renamed back to Gram from its previous name, Toncoin (TON), in June 2026 following a community vote. Durov himself returned to directly lead the project in 2026.

Market Reaction

The GRAM token jumped 7-10% on news of the announcement. Telegram has not yet named a firm launch date, a full list of supported assets, or other technical specifications for the project.

Why It Matters

If executed at the scale announced, this would be the single largest simultaneous rollout of a non-custodial crypto wallet in the industry's history — an attempt to embed crypto infrastructure directly into the daily habits of more than a billion people who already use Telegram every day, without requiring them to separately download a specialized crypto app or learn how a blockchain works.

This material is for informational purposes only and is not investment advice.