- Telegram has expanded its native crypto wallet to the U.S.
- The TON wallet supports Toncoin, TON NFTs and stablecoins.
- As the largest stablecoin on TON with little competition, the latest integration could onboard millions of Telegram users to USDT.
Telegram has officially launched its native crypto wallet, TON Wallet, for users in the United States.
The rollout brings self-custodial digital asset functionality directly into the Telegram app, letting users send and receive assets such as Toncoin and NFTs, and crucially, USDT.
Telegram’s Wallet Expansion
Telegram’s foray into crypto wallets began in 2023 with the integration of a built-in Telegram Mini App.
The wallet is based on TON, a blockchain originally developed by Telegram but now stewarded by the independent TON Foundation.
Initially focused on crypto assets, with the launch of USDT on TON in 2024, Telegram introduced support for stablecoins, letting users send dollar-based payments directly in the app.
A More Favorable U.S. Climate
The history of Telegram’s crypto ventures has been characterized by fierce regulatory resistance in the U.S.
It was under the objections of the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019 that the company initially abandoned its blockchain plans.
After TON was resurrected as an open-source project in 2020, the anti-crypto stance of the SEC under Gary Gensler hindered closer integration with Telegram, at least in the U.S.
After several years of keeping it at arm’s length, Telegram finally embraced TON with the launch of its native wallet in 2023.
Now, with the SEC under new leadership and the U.S. undergoing a crypto renaissance, the time is ripe for an American expansion.
“The U.S. launch of TON Wallet is a major step toward making decentralized finance part of everyday life,” commented Max Crown, CEO of TON Foundation.
“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,” he added.
USDT on TON
While Toncoin functionality makes TON wallet a useful tool for decentralized finance, peer-to-peer stablecoin transfers are arguably its biggest selling point for everyday Telegram users.
By far the largest and most important stablecoin on TON is USDT, which was launched as a TON-native “Jetton” (akin to an ERC‑20 token on Ethereum) in 2024.
Unlike on other blockchains, on TON, USDT faces little competition from rival stablecoins like USDC.
This could be down to caution on behalf of the USDC issuer Circle, given its emphasis on regulatory compliance and Telegram’s past legal issues with the SEC.
Whatever the reason for USDT’s head start on TON, Telegram’s recent wallet launch could expose a whole new audience to the stablecoin.
With features like 0% fees on USDT purchases via Apple Pay, Google Pay and credit cards provided by MoonPay, TON Wallet offers one of the most user-friendly onboarding experiences of any stablecoin gateway, giving it potentially broad appeal beyond established crypto users.
