Telegram Wallet Chooses Custody Over Self-Custody for Easier Onboarding

Rollout to Begin in November

Telegram Wallet, a popular Telegram bot for buying and selling cryptocurrencies, has decided to prioritize custody over self-custody in order to simplify the onboarding process for new users. The wallet bot, which was integrated into the Telegram messenger in July 2023, allows users to access the wallet directly from the messenger's settings. However, those who have never used the bot are not seeing the crypto wallet in their settings section. The full rollout of the wallet is expected to start in November 2023, beginning with several African and Latin American countries.

Global Availability

Once the global rollout is complete, users in select countries will be able to access the Telegram Wallet and buy, sell, and transact cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. The rollout will then continue in the Middle East and North Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe. However, there will be some jurisdictions where the wallet will not be available.

Custodial Solution for Easy Onboarding

Unlike self-custodial wallets like MetaMask, the Telegram Wallet operates as a custodial wallet. This means that users entrust their coins to a third party and do not have direct ownership of their assets. According to the chief operating officer of Telegram Wallet, the decision to choose a custodial solution was driven by the need to make it easier for new users to onboard to crypto. Self-custodial wallets require users to understand concepts like seed phrases and gas fees, which can be complex for non-crypto native users. Telegram Wallet aims to simplify the onboarding process by allowing users to start using crypto as soon as they click on the Wallet option in their Telegram settings.

Convenience vs. Security

Choosing between custodial and self-custodial wallets involves a trade-off between convenience and security. Custodial wallets are more convenient but less safe, while self-custodial wallets are less convenient but more secure. With self-custodial wallets, users are solely responsible for keeping their private keys or seed phrases safe in order to maintain ownership of their crypto assets.