Telegram is revisiting an idea from 2022.

Back in late 2022, following the high-profile collapse of FTX and a wave of mistrust toward centralized crypto services, Pavel Durov announced that Telegram would begin building its own decentralized infrastructure. At the time, the plan was to launch a non-custodial crypto wallet and a decentralized exchange (DEX) so that users could have full control over their funds without intermediaries.

At the time, it seemed like a long-term idea. No one mentioned any specific timelines, and the news itself was quickly overshadowed by other developments in the crypto market.

Almost four years have passed. And now it’s becoming clear that Telegram hasn’t abandoned those plans.

The most sensational announcement of this summer

Pavel Durov announced that Telegram will begin a large-scale rollout of the native, non-custodial Gram wallet this summer, which will be available directly within the Telegram app.

According to him, this will be the largest rollout of a self-custody wallet in history, and more than a billion users will be able to take advantage of instant, commission-free crypto transfers.

If the announcement is accurate, this is no longer just about a new wallet, but an attempt to make cryptocurrency part of everyday use on Telegram.

Why does this seem like a logical continuation of recent events?

If you look at what has been happening over the past few months, it becomes clear that this announcement was no coincidence.

First, Telegram announced that it was reverting to its original name, Gram, and discontinuing the Toncoin brand. The company then stated that it would become a key player in the development of the TON ecosystem and the network’s largest validator. Only after that did it announce its own built-in wallet.

It seems that all these events are part of a single strategy.

What Is Known So Far

At this point, only a few things have been officially confirmed:

• The wallet will be built directly into Telegram;
• it will be non-custodial;
• The launch is scheduled for the summer;
• Instant transfers with no fees are advertised;
• The potential audience exceeds one billion users.

However, there are virtually no technical details available at this time.

There are still more questions than answers

This is where the real fun begins.

It is not yet known:

• how cryptographic keys will be stored;
• Will the classic seed phrase be used, or will Telegram offer a new way to restore access?;
• What assets will be available besides Gram;
• How exactly are the promised “commission-free” transfers carried out?;
• whether the service will remain available in all countries.

Without answers to these questions, it is difficult to assess the true potential of the new product.

What Might Change for the Entire Crypto Industry

In recent years, the main obstacle to the widespread adoption of cryptocurrencies has not been the technology itself, but rather the difficulty of using them.

For most beginners, it all ended at the stage of creating a wallet, writing down the seed phrase, or making their first attempt to send a transaction.

Telegram might try to address this very issue.

If the company truly succeeds in combining the principles of self-custody with the simplicity of a standard messaging app, millions of users will, for the first time, be able to use cryptocurrency as easily as they send photos or messages today.

That is precisely why the main development is not the launch of the new wallet itself, but the potential shift in the approach to the widespread use of digital assets.

KLEMPUS's Opinion

Right now, the market is actively discussing a possible rise in the price of Gram. But that’s probably the least interesting part of the whole story.

Something else is much more important.

In 2022, Telegram was just talking about its own decentralized ecosystem. Today, those ideas are beginning to turn into real products.

If the company follows through on its promises and actually offers a user-friendly non-custodial wallet to its audience, this could be one of the most significant developments for the entire crypto industry in recent years.

But we are still a long way from reaching any final conclusions.

So far, we’ve only seen a bold statement. A true assessment can only be made after the technical details are released and the product is launched. Only then will it become clear whether Telegram is truly ready to disrupt the market, or if this is just another flashy announcement.