Telegram Rolls Out TON Crypto Wallet to U.S. Users

Until this week, Telegram’s built-in wallet, initially introduced in early 2023, was unavailable in restricted jurisdictions, notably the United States and U.K. U.S. users who navigated to the “Wallet in Telegram” mini-app previously encountered an “unsupported region” message. That has changed: as of July 22, Telegram began rolling out access to TON Wallet for American users, marking its first official foray into the U.S. crypto market.

TON Wallet offers a suite of crypto tools natively embedded in Telegram. Users can now stake Toncoin and other supported tokens directly from within the app, earning passive yields without needing to connect to an external DeFi protocol. The wallet also includes a built-in swap feature, allowing users to exchange between cryptocurrencies seamlessly without leaving the Telegram interface. In a move likely designed to attract first-time users, Telegram is offering zero-fee purchases of USDT through Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards via MoonPay, with no fees charged by the platform itself. Additionally, peer-to-peer transfers are now supported, enabling users to send Toncoin, USDT, and other TON-based tokens to contacts directly through their chats.

The Open Platform (TOP), the company behind Telegram’s wallet integration, has embedded crypto functionality directly into the Telegram app, making it a seamless part of the user experience. TOP recently raised $28.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Ribbit Capital and Pantera Capital. The funding round brought the company’s valuation to over $1 billion, cementing its status as a fintech unicorn and paving the way for rapid expansion across the U.S. and Europe.

Pavel Durov has long envisioned evolving Telegram from a messaging tool into a full-fledged platform encompassing financial services and digital payments. TON (The Open Network)—originally launched by Telegram in 2018–2019 to power the “Gram” token—became an independent, community-led ecosystem following regulatory challenges in 2020. Today, Toncoin is tightly woven into Telegram, powering ad purchases, public‑channel rewards, monetization for mini‑apps and bots, as well as facilitating in‑app spending through Telegram Stars and Premium.

Prior to its U.S. launch, TON Wallet (formerly TON Space) had already gained substantial global traction, with over 100 million wallet activations recorded in 2024 across regions such as Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Telegram, which boasts around 87 million users in the U.S., rolled out the wallet to this population, an expansion that many industry observers view as a pivotal moment in bringing mainstream crypto adoption to everyday messaging platforms and turning chat interfaces into gateway tools for decentralized finance.

Telegram’s previous crypto tools relied on custodial models that emphasized simplicity, deliberately avoiding self-custody features to help onboard less tech-savvy users. However, the addition of staking and asset-swapping capabilities may now bring new regulatory scrutiny, particularly from U.S. agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The use of regulated payment gateways like MoonPay and the absence of platform fees for stablecoin purchases indicate Telegram’s effort to operate within compliance boundaries while maintaining user appeal.

For U.S. users, the rollout delivers an all-in-one crypto solution directly within the messaging app they already use daily. Without needing to juggle external wallets, exchanges, or browser extensions, Telegram users can now stake, swap, and send digital assets through a familiar interface. The built-in design significantly lowers the barrier to entry, while offering a self-custodial model that gives users control over their private keys. This marks a shift from Telegram’s earlier custodial tools and reflects a broader move toward user-controlled crypto infrastructure in the U.S. market.

Telegram’s expansion may also inspire broader trends across the messaging and fintech landscape. Embedding financial tools directly into apps could redefine how users interact with money, bringing crypto into the fold of daily communication. The move could push competing platforms like WhatsApp or Signal to explore similar strategies, especially if user demand for integrated financial features continues to grow.

Telegram is expected to further enhance its wallet with new asset listings, deeper decentralized app integrations, and possibly non-custodial capabilities. Earlier this year, the company rolled out support for over 50 tokens globally, alongside yield-generating programs and native swaps. These features are now being extended to U.S. users for the first time.

Telegram’s U.S. TON Wallet rollout marks a strategic leap into crypto finance, blending messaging and decentralized asset management. For American users, it means staking, swaps, and crypto-on‑ramps, all inside their favorite chat app.