Telegram is reshaping its crypto offering around two key services: its new self-custodial Gram wallet and Wallet in Telegram, the broader crypto platform now rebranding as Walt.
Telegram has rolled out its native Gram wallet across the messaging app, making the self-custodial service its default wallet in user settings, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph.
Gram wallet will focus on payments, transfers and purchases across Telegram, while Walt will offer broader crypto services including trading, investing and support for assets across multiple blockchains. Walt will no longer serve as Telegram’s default crypto wallet and will instead be accessible through search.
The split marks a major shift in Telegram’s crypto ecosystem, putting a native self-custodial wallet at the center of everyday transactions while repositioning Walt around a wider range of crypto and financial products. Telegram founder Pavel Durov first teased Gram wallet in July, saying the company planned to bring a native non-custodial wallet to every Telegram app.
“We’ll be gradually rolling it out to our billion+ users over the next couple of weeks,” he said Monday in a Telegram post.
Source: Pavel Durov on Telegram
Gram and Walt will remain connected
Gram wallet will serve as Telegram’s transaction layer for transfers and payments. The self-custodial wallet will support purchases of Telegram Collectibles, including gifts, usernames and phone numbers, as well as payments for services and everyday purchases.
Gram wallet and Walt will remain connected, with Walt allowing users to make multichain crypto deposits to Gram wallet.
Wallet in Telegram becomes Walt
Wallet in Telegram’s rebrand reflects the service’s expansion beyond its origins as a wallet primarily used to buy and hold Gram (GRAM), formerly known as Toncoin (TON).
Walt supports deposits, holdings and withdrawals for more than 300 crypto assets across four blockchains, alongside trading in more than 200. The platform also offers more than 100 tokenized stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and metals.
Related: Apple briefly removes Telegram from App Store, Gram rebounds
Its other products include crypto yield services and perpetual futures, a type of derivative contract without an expiration date. Walt offers perpetual trading across more than 70 assets, including cryptocurrencies, oil, natural gas and metals.
“We started as a simple wallet for buying TON, but over the past four years we’ve grown into a full-scale crypto platform inside Telegram, launching Earn, real-world assets and perpetual trading,” said Andrew Rogozov, founder and CEO of The Open Platform (TOP) and Walt.
Magazine: Do the Coldcard attacks mean all hardware wallets are now insecure?
