A built-in non-custodial Money wallet for the Gram token has appeared in the messenger with a billion users. Previously the feature was available only to a select few; now it is being rolled out widely: all it takes is receiving a transfer for the "Money" section to appear in the app.
Users will be able to store and send Gram right in chats, buy digital gifts and collectible names. Transfers are promised to be instant and without network fees. A separate app, Walt, remains for trading and investing in more than 300 assets. Gram is a renamed Toncoin; the TON blockchain has kept its name.
After the news, the price of Gram rose by roughly 9% to 1,56 dollars, and its market capitalization exceeded 4,12 billion. The market reacted quickly, but hype is not the only thing behind the rise. Telegram is turning the familiar exchange of messages into a channel for value, bypassing banks and intermediaries.
Non-custodiality is the key difference. The keys remain with the user, not with the platform. This reduces the risks of funds being frozen by the company, but shifts all responsibility for security onto the owner. One lost seed — and the savings disappear forever, with no possibility of recovery through support.
The division of roles between Money and Walt looks logical: simple transfers and the purchase of gifts in the messenger, complex operations in a separate app. In this way Telegram avoids excessive attention from regulators to the trading side while retaining control over everyday payments within its ecosystem.
For an ordinary user, this looks like a convenient way to send a token to a friend or buy a collectible name without leaving the chat. Money ceases to be something separate from communication — it becomes part of the stream of messages. But behind this simplicity lies an old lesson: the easier access to money is, the more important it is to understand who actually owns it.
Integrating a non-custodial wallet into a messenger used by a billion people changes the familiar view of where communication ends and financial self-reliance begins.
