Telegram Crypto Wallet Launches Onchain Yield Vaults for BTC, ETH, and USDT Holders

Wallet in Telegram has rolled out onchain yield vaults through its self-custodial TON Wallet, allowing Bitcoin, Ethereum, and USDT holders to earn returns directly inside the app. The top USDT strategy offers a blended APY of up to 18%, powered by Re7's DeFi strategy, while ETH and BTC vaults are also live with variable rates. The feature is built on infrastructure provided by Morpho, TAC, and Re7.

What Is TON Wallet and How Does It Work?

TON Wallet is the self-custodial crypto wallet embedded within Telegram's messaging app. Self-custodial means users hold their own private keys, rather than trusting a centralized exchange or custodian to hold assets on their behalf. Wallet in Telegram has more than 150 million registered users, making it one of the largest crypto wallet deployments by user count anywhere in the world.

The vault feature allows users to deposit BTC, ETH, or USDT into onchain strategies that generate variable yield without moving assets to an external platform. In the future, depositing BTC and ETH will trigger automatic conversion to cbBTC (Coinbase-wrapped Bitcoin) and wETH (wrapped Ethereum) to make them compatible with the TON network's smart contract environment.

How Does the Yield Infrastructure Actually Work?

Three protocols handle the backend of the vault system. Each plays a distinct role in making the yield generation function within the TON ecosystem.

• Morpho provides the core lending infrastructure. The protocol currently holds over $10 billion in deposits and is one of the more established lending networks in DeFi. It acts as the base layer through which yield is generated.
• TAC is an EVM execution layer, meaning it allows Ethereum-compatible smart contracts to run within the TON network. It is responsible for bringing wETH and cbBTC into the TON environment, bridging two ecosystems that would otherwise be incompatible.
• Re7 manages risk and curates the yield strategies. For the USDT vault, Re7's DeFi strategy is what powers the top-yield option at up to 18% APY.

What Is a Blended APY?

The 18% figure for USDT is described as a "blended APY." This means the overall return is a weighted average across multiple underlying strategies, rather than a single fixed rate. In practice, the actual return a user receives will depend on which strategies are active and how capital is allocated across them at any given time. Blended APYs are common in DeFi yield aggregators, where funds are often spread across several lending pools simultaneously.

Why Is TON Launching This Now?

The launch follows a difficult period for the TON ecosystem. In 2024, a wave of tap-to-earn mini-games flooded Telegram with promises of token rewards, drawing in millions of new users. Once the reward incentives dried up, engagement dropped sharply. The TON ecosystem has been working since then to find more durable use cases that keep users active on the platform.

The vault launch is the second significant financial feature added to TON Wallet in a short period. Two weeks before the vault rollout, Wallet in Telegram introduced cross-chain deposits through a partnership with MoonPay, allowing users to fund their TON Wallet with crypto from Ethereum, Solana, Tron, and other major networks. The vault feature now gives those users a place to put that capital to work.

Andrew Rogozov, founder and CEO of The Open Platform and Wallet in Telegram, described the vaults as a way to bridge the gap between complex DeFi protocols and a much wider user base. The goal, as stated in the launch, is to make DeFi accessible to the hundreds of millions of Telegram users who have a wallet but may have no prior experience with yield farming or onchain lending.

Telegram's Broader Context

The launch comes at a sensitive time for Telegram more broadly. Reports have emerged that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has initiated a criminal investigation against Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, alleging the platform has failed to comply with Russian legal requirements. 

Durov has rejected the allegations, calling them an attempt by the Russian government to exert control over the platform. The situation has not affected Telegram's product rollouts, but it adds political pressure to a company already navigating regulatory scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions.

Conclusion

Wallet in Telegram's new onchain vault feature gives BTC, ETH, and USDT holders access to yield-generating strategies directly within the app, without requiring external platforms or exchanges. 

The system runs on Morpho's lending infrastructure, TAC's EVM execution layer, and Re7's risk-managed yield strategies. USDT vaults offer a blended APY of up to 18%, while BTC and ETH vaults carry variable rates. The feature builds on the cross-chain deposit capability added two weeks earlier through MoonPay, giving TON Wallet's 150 million registered users a more complete onchain financial toolkit.

Resources 

1. Ton Wallet on X: Post on Feb. 26

2. Report by The Block: Telegram crypto wallet unveils yield for Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT holdings

3. Report by Reuters: Russia investigates Telegram founder Durov in a bid to subjugate the messaging app