The Telegram macOS wallet is quietly entering a new phase of development, with its beta builds introducing highly anticipated features such as expanded NFT support, visible MoonPay on-ramp branding, and a robust encrypted seed phrase backup. While most of these functionalities exist solely within the app’s underlying code and are not directly accessible to users just yet, their presence signals Telegram’s ongoing commitment to advancing the capabilities and security of its native wallet. This article explores what’s new in the Telegram macOS wallet beta, the implications for users, and what might be coming next.
NFT and MoonPay Features in Beta
Recent versions of the Telegram macOS wallet beta have added internal classes and updated API schemas supporting a broad array of NFT functionality. For the first time, this beta includes identifiers for NFT items, collections, and their related attributes—advancing beyond the basic NFT-sending capabilities seen in earlier releases. In practical terms, this means Telegram is engineering the structural groundwork that will enable richer NFT management features, such as in-app collections, improved transfer flows, and potentially even gallery-style displays, though none of these are yet available from the user interface.
Notably, various NFT-related user interface strings—such as “Send Collectible” and “NFT transfer is unavailable”—can now be observed in the code. However, there are currently no active NFT browsing screens or market integrations. The characteristics being implemented, though invisible for now, suggest Telegram is positioning itself for deeper involvement in the NFT ecosystem.
Alongside NFT groundwork, the Telegram macOS wallet beta now references "MoonPay" next to the card top-up function in its wallet code. This marks the first known inclusion of MoonPay in Telegram’s macOS wallet environment. MoonPay is a popular fiat-to-crypto on-ramp that lets users buy digital assets with traditional payment methods like debit and credit cards. This early integration, while not currently functional, indicates that seamless card-based top-ups might soon be supported within Telegram’s wallet—which could greatly lower the barrier for mainstream users onboarding to TON or other wallets within the app. For now, though, this remains preparatory: MoonPay’s features aren’t user-activatable in the current beta build.
For an independent deep dive into these changes, see Gram News’s coverage.
TON Drop Hub take: With its Telegram macOS wallet beta, Telegram is laying a technical foundation for advanced NFT handling and direct fiat funding. The ongoing development promises meaningful upgrades, but users should understand that these features are not active or available for public testing yet.
Encrypted Backup and Secret Phrase Workflow
Security and self-custody take center stage in the Telegram macOS wallet beta, which now features a sophisticated encrypted backup procedure for wallet seed phrases. The new system encrypts and partitions a user’s recovery phrase into three fragments. Each encrypted part is distributed to separate data centers on different continents, with Telegram stating that the full seed phrase can only be reassembled locally on the user’s device. This approach dramatically enhances user privacy and reduces the risk of remote compromise: Telegram itself never has full access to the seed phrase, and reconstitution for recovery occurs only in your hands.
Users who prioritize total control can opt out of encrypted backups entirely. In this case, they must manually enter their secret phrase during every new app session—eliminating any remote recovery option, but maximizing personal custody. This is a stricter security model, ideal for those with significant assets or advanced privacy concerns, but it also means greater personal responsibility.
Workflow changes add further safety checks: if a user changes their secret phrase, the app forces input of the entire 24-word phrase and will only permit changes when the wallet holds a zero balance. Upon phrase update, any previously stored backup is securely deleted from all Telegram data centers, putting all recovery responsibility in the user’s hands.
TON Drop Hub’s assessment is that this distributed, encrypted architecture is an improvement in wallet safety, balancing convenience and user responsibility. Those opting out of cloud backup take on greater risk of permanent loss, but also eliminate the possibility of third-party compromise.
Beta Build: Under-the-Hood Updates
This distinction is crucial—testers should rely solely on the settings and features actually exposed through the wallet’s current interface. As always, recovery flows that are not officially live should be treated as non-existent from a risk-management perspective, no matter what’s in the code.
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