Telegram Users in US Can Now Access Native Crypto Wallet

Telegram’s native crypto wallet is beginning its roll out for U.S. residents, allowing them to buy, sell, and send cryptocurrencies directly within the messaging app. 

Built by The Open Network (TON) ecosystem developer The Open Platform—which was recently valued at $1 billion following its latest funding round—the TON Wallet is a self-custody wallet that first launched for international users back in September 2023.

"The timing of our U.S. launch was guided by product scaling readiness and market opportunity," Irina Chuchkina, Chief Growth Officer for Wallet in Telegram, told Decrypt. "Until recently, the ecosystem wasn’t yet equipped to support a meaningful launch in the U.S."

Chuchkina pointed to other steps that preceded the U.S. wallet launch, including Toncoin listings at exchanges like Crypto.com and Kraken, along with a Moonpay integration for fiat currency ramps. TOP plans to expand Wallet access to more than 10 additional countries over the next two years, she added.

The firm said its wallet was activated by more than 100 million users worldwide last year alone, and stands to gain many more activations from Telegram’s 87 million U.S. users according to data cited from SensorTower. 

The wallet’s launch in the United States is being supported by the TON Foundation, the key organization that supports development on The Open Network, the blockchain that went exclusive with Telegram’s messaging app earlier this year. 

“The U.S. launch of TON Wallet is a major step toward making decentralized finance part of everyday life,” said TON Foundation CEO Max Crown, in a statement. 

“With TON blockchain powering a wallet built directly into Telegram, we’re removing the barriers that have kept everyday users on the sidelines and giving people in the U.S. direct, intuitive access to DeFi inside an app they already know and trust.”

The launch of TON Wallet in the U.S. is the first major geographic expansion since The Open Platform highlighted its focus on entering new markets earlier this month.

TOP, which has also developed major TON ecosystem apps like NFT marketplace Getgems and the token swap protocol STON.fi., recently raised $28.5 million at a $1 billion valuation, which it claimed made it the first company in the TON ecosystem to earn unicorn status. 

Beyond swap and send capabilities, U.S. users will also have access to staking and yield opportunities and 0% fiat on-ramp fees when purchasing through Apple Pay, Google Pay, or credit cards via MoonPay’s payment integration. 

Originally created by Telegram, development of TON was initially scrapped in 2020 due to regulatory scrutiny. The network development was then picked up externally by a community of developers who later launched The Open Network. Tuesday’s U.S. wallet launch is only the latest step in growing Telegram integration for TON over the last two years.

Editor's note: This story was updated after publication to add comments from The Open Platform.