A new ignore_restriction_reasons parameter has appeared in the test AppConfig.

It now contains two restriction reasons that the client should ignore:
× sensitive
× porn

This is directly related to restrictionReason. If the reason in a restriction matches a value from ignore_restriction_reasons, the client ignores that restriction.

This means content with restrictionReason porn or sensitive, which was previously blocked at the client level, will likely no longer be blocked due to this restriction when this config is enabled.

@telelakel

The import requirements for the built-in Gram Wallet have been changed.

You can now import a Recovery Phrase only if it was created in Telegram. This means you won't be able to import any existing wallet into Telegram, only a wallet that was previously created in Telegram.

A new field for calculating the network fee has also been added to the transfer window.

Previously mentioned:
[View 1], [View 2], [View 3], [View 4], [View 5], [View 6], [View 7]

Telegram Beta for iOS v12.10.0 (34963)
@telelakel | #new_tgbeta

In the new Telegram Beta for Android v12.10.4 (7095), a new «Round Video (Experimental)» tab has been added, featuring experimental settings for recording round video messages.

In the Recorder section, you can configure:
× Use Camera2 recorder: record using the modern Android Camera2 API
× Output resolution: 360p or 480p
× Camera resolution: High, Medium, or Low
× Frame rate: 30 or 60 FPS
× Video bitrate: from 750 kbps to 2 Mbps

60 FPS is available only if both the front and rear cameras support this frame rate. Otherwise, recording automatically switches to 30 FPS.

A Round video styling toggle has also been added to the Composition section. When disabled, video messages are recorded in a square format — without the standard round cropping, background blur, or Telegram graphic elements.

UPD: These settings will not be included in the stable version and will remain exclusive to the Beta version.

UPD2: Added to debug menu

@telelakel | #new_tgbeta

New Gram logo animations for the built-in wallet.

Telegram Beta for iOS v12.10 (35017)
@telelakel | #new_tgbeta

In the new stable Telegram for Android v12.10.5 (7105), a new «Show experimental settings» option has been added to the debug menu. It opens a new «Round Video» menu. This menu is designed to configure the recording quality of round video messages.

Previously mentioned:
[View 1]

*To open the debug menu, go to Settings and tap the version number twice.

@telelakel

#client #desktop

v1.2.10 (TDesktop v7.2.9)

No changelog :)

Wallet bot renamed as Walt — and disappears from the app menu as Telegram prepares its own replacement

On September 28, 2026, users noticed that Telegram had stopped promoting Wallet. The bot itself had been renamed Walt and given a new logo that no longer made it look like an official Telegram service.

In 2023, Telegram and the TON Foundation publicly announced a partnership, and the Wallet bot was closely integrated into the messaging app. In particular, Telegram began displaying the wallet in the app’s menu, promoting it to all its users.

The Wallet bot was launched in 2022 by a company associated with the TON Foundation. At the time, the @tginfo editors expressed the view that Wallet was being developed in close cooperation with Telegram. Today, the company that owns the Wallet bot is known as TOP (The Open Platform).

The @tginfo editors link these changes to the Telegram team’s preparations to launch its own Gram Wallet, which will become the primary wallet for Telegram users.


The history of Telegram Open Network (TON) and Gram

In the view of the @tginfo editors, the TON Foundation and the Wallet bot, now known as Walt, are the result of a hybrid strategy Telegram pursued because of the SEC’s 2020 ban on developing TON.

Telegram is now replacing the bot with the fully integrated Gram wallet, in line with the original 2019 vision. Telegram may have decided to take back direct control of the blockchain thanks to the significant deregulation of cryptocurrencies in the US in recent years.

Preparations for launch and investment

The first rumors about the Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain and its cryptocurrency, Gram, both developed by the Telegram team, surfaced in 2017.

In 2018, Telegram held a private ICO and raised about $2 billion. At the time, some believed that Telegram was developing TON in part to hold an ICO and raise funds to keep the company going, while avoiding the obligations associated with issuing securities and the need to introduce advertising and paid subscriptions in the app.

By early 2019, it had become clear that the cryptocurrency was being prepared for launch and integration with Telegram in the coming months, in line with previously leaked plans. That same year, an experimental built-in Gram wallet appeared in the app.

The SEC lawsuit and the freeze

In October 2019, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Telegram, alleging that Telegram was selling securities, not virtual currency, through its ICO. In 2020, Telegram signed a settlement that forced it to refund investors and officially discontinue work on TON. Telegram froze development and removed most mentions of TON and Gram from the app.

After losing the investments raised through the ICO, Telegram began financing itself through Eurobonds and other types of bonds. Telegram did not repay its first debt tranche, issued in 2021, until 2026.

After Durov’s team left, the developer community split into two parallel branches:

• Free TON: An independent group led by TON Labs, a validator, launched a separate network with the TON Crystal token.
• NewTON (TON Community): Another group of independent developers continued supporting the original testnet2 network created by Durov’s team and focused on preserving TON’s original architecture and concept.

The birth of the TON Foundation and the hybrid era

In August 2021, Telegram officially chose the NewTON team, handing over the official ton.org domain and the project’s GitHub repository to it. The NewTON team then renamed itself The Open Network (TON Foundation), and the native token was named Toncoin.

Although Telegram and the TON Foundation were independent, the @tginfo team believes there was an informal connection between them that allowed Telegram to continue working on TON. By maintaining formal independence, Telegram may have been trying to avoid scrutiny from the SEC and other regulators.

In 2022, former VKontakte executive Andrey Rogozov, who had worked with Durov for a long time, and other developers joined the TON Foundation. In 2023, Rogozov also became head of The Open Platform (TOP). A press release states that TOP was formed by merging First Stage Labs with the Wallet team inside Telegram.

Before 2024, the makeup of the TON Foundation team changed quietly, and it appears that at some point Rogozov stopped actively participating in the foundation and focused on The Open Platform. Meanwhile, Telegram maintained closer ties with TOP than with the TON Foundation.

Telegram began a cautious integration: it launched TON-based auctions on the Fragment platform, introduced payouts in TON, enabled gifts to be registered as NFTs, added support for TON Sites to the app, and required Mini Apps to use TON.

It was in this context that Wallet appeared. In the view of the @tginfo editors, it may have been one of the main drivers behind the emergence of the Web Bots / Mini Apps platform in 2022. In 2023, it began appearing for all Telegram users as the default wallet app. Legally, however, it was operated not by Telegram but by the TON Foundation and, later, Rogozov’s TOP.

MTONGA

In spring 2026, Pavel Durov announced the launch of the Make TON Great Again (MTONGA) initiative — a sweeping seven-step program intended to bring TON back to Telegram, transforming it once again from a standalone cryptocurrency project into Telegram’s native blockchain.

Telegram regained control of the blockchain and its status as lead validator, upgraded the blockchain, restored the cryptocurrency’s original name, Gram, and announced plans to integrate a native wallet into Telegram apps. However, it appears that Rogozov’s team’s Walt wallet is not part of the MTONGA plans.

TOP and its Walt wallet will continue to operate independently. In early 2026, TOP planned to buy the popular non-custodial wallet Tonkeeper from its founders. The full acquisition of its shares did not go through, but in August 2026 TOP took over Tonkeeper’s operations. Tonkeeper also owns the Tonviewer blockchain explorer, which was used in official Telegram apps to inspect blockchain transactions.

In 2026, this blockchain explorer, which was under the control of Rogozov’s company, began displaying casino ads, so Telegram replaced it with Tonscan. Telegram chose not to return to Tonviewer even after it removed the ads.

It’s worth noting that Telegram’s new wallet is not being built from scratch: Gram Wallet is being developed in collaboration with the My Wallet team (formerly MyTonWallet). The project includes native integration directly into Telegram apps, as well as a standalone iOS/Android app and a web version. Telegram’s wallet is fully non-custodial.

#TON