Telegram founder Pavel Durov announced on July 21, 2026 that the messaging app will roll out a native non-custodial wallet in all versions of the app, targeting more than 1 billion monthly active users for instant, zero-fee crypto transactions.
GRAM, the native token of The Open Network (TON) blockchain, surged about +7% on the news, rising from about $1.36 to more than $1.50, pushing the coin’s market cap to about $4.18 billion, according to CoinGecko data.
Durov hopes to have Gram Wallet in all Telegram apps by summer
Pavel @durov is preparing for what he calls the largest non-custodial wallet rollout in history, with plans to integrate the native the-open-network:native wallet directly into all Telegram apps before the end of the summer.
That’s… pic.twitter.com/O01DkbPJfN
— BSCN (@BSCNews) July 21, 2026
This announcement marks the largest distribution of self-custodial cryptocurrencies in history. For context, MetaMask, the most widely used non-custodial wallet in the space, has tens of millions of users.
This would be a major move for the sector, with Telegram proposing to put in front of its audience a self-custody rail that would dwarf anything cryptocurrencies have attempted before.
The difference between what Durov actually announced and what Telegram has already announced
(Source: TradingView)
Telegram already operates a cryptocurrency wallet product, the @wallet bot, which is run by a separate company called The Open Platform and has more than 150 million registered users. The important difference is that @wallet runs in save mode by default. The company holds the key on behalf of the user, and the user must actively search for the key within the app.
The new wallet is native to Telegram itself. This means it ships built-in to every version of the app, rather than as an optional bot. Non-custodial from day one, so users keep the keys to their funds. This is the digital equivalent of carrying cash around instead of storing your money in a bank account that can be frozen or blocked by a third party.
It has not been confirmed whether the new wallet will replace or co-exist with @wallet, and Telegram has yet to reveal what assets it will support beyond Gram or how large-scale key management will work for users who have never touched cryptocurrencies before.
For those considering self-custody mechanisms more broadly, a detailed analysis of how non-custodial wallets handle security and key management reveals exactly what is at risk when apps shift those responsibilities onto users.
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The “Make TON Great Again” roadmap and where it applies
Future narrative of Telegram:
– Ton ticker changed to the-open-network:native (previously called Telegram Equity ticker)
– The only L1 with 1 billion user apps connected
– Telegram has more control over the chain and platform’s fate as the largest validator
– My future self…— bobdbldr (@0xBobdbldr) July 21, 2026
The wallet announcement is the next step in what Durov calls the “Make TON Great Again (MTONGA)” roadmap. In April 2026, Durov said that the TON blockchain received a 10x speed upgrade, including a 6x increase in block rate to bring transaction finality to less than 1 second, as one of seven steps in the roadmap. Step 2 is a 6x reduction in fees.
Rebranding from Toncoin to Gram in June 2026 was approved by 81% of community voters and was a symbolic reset in itself. Gram was the first name Telegram chose in 2018 when it raised $1.7 billion for what it called the “Telegram Open Network” before the SEC filed a lawsuit claiming the tokens were unregistered securities.
Telegram settled in 2020, returning $1.2 billion to investors and walking away with $18.5 million in civil penalties. Community developers continued to keep the chain alive as Toncoin until Durov took control again in 2026.
The name “Restoration” is once again a deliberate reminder that the project belongs to Telegram. XRP’s long-running SEC legal battle shows some notable similarities. This is another token whose trajectory was essentially shaped by US regulatory actions, as detailed here.
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Gram price big picture: Catalyst does not correct bearish chart
What went wrong here? $TON/$GRAM is extremely weak pic.twitter.com/A858DCHfJQ
— Victor (@thedefivillain) July 20, 2026
The 7% move on Graham’s announcement partially offset a tough 25% decline for much of July, but the broader technical picture remains difficult. Analysis of TradingView data by Decrypt shows that the coin’s 200-day exponential moving average is well above its current price, confirming that the macro trend remains bearish.
More immediate milestones include an 88% increase from the current $1.52 level just to reach Gram’s May 2026 peak of $2.89, the all-time high set when Telegram first announced the network acquisition. The all-time high of $8.25 reached in June 2024, amidst the boom in Telegram tap-to-earn games, is a completely different story.
The adoption gap is the real test. If even 1% of Telegram’s more than 1 billion users activated a new wallet and made regular transactions, that number would increase by orders of magnitude. Distribution and activation are not the same thing, and Durov did not mention a release date beyond “this summer.”
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