Telegram Money — the native Gram wallet
Telegram Money is a mainnet wallet on The Open Network (TON) for receiving assets and connecting to decentralized apps (dApps) through TON Connect.
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On-chain transfers: send Gram to Telegram users, including those who have not opened the wallet yet. Transfers execute on TON through the WalletTg smart contract.
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Sponsored fees: Telegram covers network fees for a daily allowance of five free transfers through gasless transactions.
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One wallet across devices: an encrypted cloud backup allows using the same wallet across devices without manual imports. It splits the wallet key into three parts stored in data centers on three continents.
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Connect dApps once: TON Connect connections sync across devices without reconnecting each one. Each device needs the current wallet key, restored from the cloud backup or the recovery phrase.
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Control the keys: disable cloud backup or rotate the signing key without changing the wallet address. The current recovery phrase also allows importing the wallet into another compatible wallet app.
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Shared contract upgrades: validators can vote to upgrade the shared wallet implementation to add features and improvements for all Telegram Money users at once, without user action. These upgrades require more than 75% of the total validator weight — neither Telegram nor anyone else can bypass validator approval to perform them.
For testnet wallets, use wallet.ton.org or manage development wallets with the Acton toolchain.
Open or restore a wallet
In Telegram Desktop, open the main menu and select Money. This entry appears only when Telegram enables wallet access for the account.
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To restore access on a device, use the recovery phrase:
- Open the Money menu and select Keys & Backup.
- Select Restore from recovery phrase when Telegram offers phrase-based restoration, then enter the current phrase.
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To display the phrase in Telegram Desktop, open Money's menu, select Keys & Backup, then Show Recovery Phrase.
The recovery phrase gives control of the wallet and funds. Store it securely — never share the recovery phase in plain text.
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To import the phrase in another app, use an app that supports the WalletTg contract and its rotation mnemonic format.
Confirm the address and connect a dApp
- Copy the wallet address from Telegram Money and check it in a mainnet explorer.
- Start a TON Connect session from the dApp and confirm its name in Telegram Money.
- Review each transaction or signing request before approving it. A connection alone does not authorize a transaction.
Disable backup or update the phrase
An encrypted backup splits the wallet key into 3 parts stored across 3 continents, and then reassembles it on devices. It is done off-chain, so this backup is unavailable for wallets imported from the recovery phrase.
To disable the backup, select Keys & Backup, then Disable Backup. This reveals the phrase and asks for confirmation of selected words. When key rotation is available, Update Secret Phrase is optional and unchecked by default.
- Without the phrase update, Telegram disables backup after the current phrase passes the word check. The signing key does not change, so existing copies remain current.
- With the phrase update, Telegram shows the rotation fee. It prepares and displays a new phrase, then checks selected words. It disables backup only after the key rotation succeeds. Words 1-12 keep the address anchor, and words 13-24 become the new signing key.
If rotation fails or is canceled, the current key and backup remain unchanged.
If rotation succeeds but the following backup-disable request fails, the new phrase becomes the current while the backup may remain enabled with the old phrase. Keep the new phrase and verify the backup state until the request succeeds.