Telegram to launch Gram wallet for 1B+ users, driving TON adoption

Telegram is bringing a non-custodial Gram wallet to its more than 1 billion users this summer, potentially reshaping how the TON blockchain reaches mainstream consumers.

Telegram plans to launch a non-custodial Gram wallet for its 1B+ users this summer, expanding TON's reach through the messaging platform's Mini App ecosystem.

"Telegram's global platform gives TON a distribution engine that most blockchains do not have," Kevin Wilson, chief executive officer at TON Strategy Company, said on the company's Q2 earnings call Aug. 11.

The wallet launch follows a series of TON network upgrades that cut block production time from 2.5 seconds to 400 milliseconds and reduced transaction fees sixfold, according to the earnings call. TON Strategy, the largest Gram holder outside Telegram, ended Q2 with 230.5 million Gram, about 4.4 percent of total supply, with 229.9 million staked at a 17 percent annualized yield.

The wallet could give Gram direct access to Telegram's 1B+ user base, potentially driving demand for the token and strengthening TON's position in consumer payments and AI agent applications.

Network upgrades set the stage

The technical improvements came through the Catchain 2.0 consensus upgrade deployed April 9, which reduced block times from approximately 2.5 seconds to 400 milliseconds and improved transaction finality from about 10 seconds to 1 second. Estimated throughput increased tenfold, while a validator software update later in April cut transaction fees approximately sixfold, bringing average costs to a small fraction of 1 cent under a fixed fee model.

The TON community also approved a rebrand of the network's native asset from Toncoin to Gram on June 8, restoring the original name from Telegram's first TON white paper. Pavel Durov, Telegram's chief executive officer, has publicly described a seven-part initiative for improving TON, with four elements identified to date: increasing network speed, reducing transaction fees, expanding Telegram's role in network validation, and restoring the Gram name.

Payment infrastructure matures

Telegram Mini Apps already support crypto payments through third-party gateways including CryptoBot, Wallet Pay, TON Pay, OxaPay, and Speed Wallet, according to FinanceFeeds. Wallet Pay, Telegram's native payment service built on the @Wallet bot, supports BTC, TON, and USDT with one-tap in-app checkout. TON Pay serves as the standardized payments layer for Mini Apps across the TON ecosystem, with built-in fiat on-ramp support.

A native non-custodial Gram wallet would bypass these intermediaries, letting users hold and transact Gram directly within Telegram. TON Strategy's Wilson said the company sees AI agents as a key driver of future network activity, with agents potentially initiating small, recurring, and automated transactions inside Telegram.

The wallet's summer launch timeline aligns with TON Strategy's second-half priorities of compounding its Gram treasury and supporting broader network adoption. The company reported $15 million in Q2 staking revenue and $369.5 million in digital asset fair value as of June 30.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.