Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov has announced the launch of Gram Wallet, which is initially available to a limited group of Telegram users. The launch matters because Durov said Telegram plans to expand access over the next few weeks to its audience of more than 1 billion users.

Durov first reported in late July 2026 that the wallet was under development. Telegram describes Gram Wallet as a native, non-custodial service, meaning it is built directly into the messenger and does not hold users’ assets on their behalf.

“Over the next few weeks, we will gradually expand access to it [Gram Wallet] to our audience of more than a billion users.”

Wallet runs on The Open Network

Gram Wallet runs on The Open Network, and the project’s smart contract is available in a GitHub repository. According to the TonNomads community, validators voted on the contract on Aug. 27-28, 2026.

Durov said future updates would not require a labor-intensive approval process because validators had approved the smart contract underpinning the wallet.

Relationship with existing Wallet service remains unclear

Telegram already has a separate Wallet service offering custodial and non-custodial products, including TON Wallet and, later, DeFi Account. Those products are third-party services.

It remains unclear whether Gram Wallet will replace the existing Wallet bot or operate alongside it. TonNomads also said the @wallet bot lost its verification badge after Durov announced Gram Wallet.

Gram fell 2.4% after the announcement. Concerns that Gram Wallet could replace the existing wallet may have contributed to the negative price reaction, although the cause remains uncertain. A TradingView chart tracks the hourly GRAM/USDT pair on OKX.

The asset was previously called Toncoin before being rebranded as Gram in June 2026. Gram was the coin’s original name in the white paper.

Source: Incrypted