Pavel Durov
Telegram launches and milestones, from 950 million monthly users to gift drops that sell out in minutes.
Founder of Telegram.
The channel is a running log of what Telegram ships, from Telegram Stars in 2024 to a Gram wallet that began rolling out in August 2026. Milestones get their own posts, like 950 million monthly users in July 2024. It also cheers on hit mini apps from other teams, such as Hamster Kombat. In 2026 it leans into TON upgrades and prizes, from design contests to coding olympiads.
- 87 of the channel's posts mark a milestone.
- Its longest posting streak ran 13 weeks in a row.
- Its favorite word is "telegram", which surprises nobody.
The journey.
- Dec 2023 – Apr 2024
Update after update
A major update with 11 new features ships just four weeks after the previous one, and Telegram Premium passes 5 million subscribers in January 2024. By March personal accounts can become business accounts, and by April the app counts 900 million monthly users.
Sources#240#244#256#260 - May – Jul 2024
The mini app gold rush
Mini apps explode and the channel cheers them on: Notcoin reaches 35 million active users and Hamster Kombat signs up 239 million people in 3 months. Telegram adds Stars for mini app payments in June 2024 and a Browser and Mini App Store at the end of July.
Sources#275#280#307#340 - Oct 2024 – Aug 2025
- Nov 2025 – Jun 2026
- Jun – Sep 2026
Gram and the prize table
In June 2026 TON's currency starts becoming Gram, and by late August a Gram Wallet in Telegram opens to a select group of users. Telegram also promises collectible cups to winners of the 2026 olympiads in AI and informatics, then becomes the sponsor of Codeforces in September.
Sources#521#537#540#546
Building now.
Gram Wallet
LaunchedOpened to a select group of users in late August 2026, with a gradual rollout to everyone over the following weeks.
- Telegram Stars
An in-app way to pay for mini app services and paid channel photos and videos, which developers and channel owners can convert to Toncoin.
Launched4 postsJun 2024 – Jan 2025– - Telegram Gifts
Limited-edition digital gifts users buy and send in Telegram, some upgradable into unique collectibles that can move on-chain as NFTs.
Launched12 postsOct 2024 – Aug 2026– - Telegram Gateway
A service that lets businesses send phone verification codes through Telegram for $0.01 per code, instead of SMS.
Launched1 postsOct 2024– - Cocoon
A decentralized confidential compute network that processes AI requests privately, while GPU owners earn TON for supplying compute.
Launched1 postsNov 2025Visit
Start here.
- 01
The launch of Telegram Stars, a way to pay for digital services in mini apps.
Big day today, we’re launching Telegram Stars ⭐️ – a way to pay for digital services in mini apps. Unlike old-school apps, Telegram mini apps like Notcoin don...
Jun 6, 20243.2M views - 02
Hamster Kombat's 239 million sign-ups in 3 months show how big the mini app wave got.
🐹 Hamster Kombat has become the latest Internet phenomenon everyone's talking about. 239 million people have signed up for this Telegram mini app in just 3 mon...
Jul 4, 202411.3M views - 03
Gifts go from launch to 20 million exchanged in one holiday season, then become NFT collectibles.
🎁 Launched just three months ago, Telegram gifts have become an internet sensation. This holiday season alone, Telegram users exchanged a record-breaking 20 mi...
Jan 3, 20256.5M views - 04
Cocoon goes live, a confidential compute network for AI where GPU owners earn TON.
🐣 It happened. Our decentralized confidential compute network, Cocoon, is live. The first AI requests from users are now being processed by Cocoon with 100% co...
Nov 30, 20257.1M views - 05
The Gram Wallet opens to a select group of users ahead of a wider rollout.
🏳️ Gram Wallet in Telegram is ready and is now accessible to a select group of users. 🤩 We'll be gradually rolling it out to our billion+ users over the next...
Aug 31, 20264.1M views
In their own words.
One small step for messaging, one giant leap toward turning cat photos into keynote presentations.
Telegram’s AI scans and labels millions of public stickers so you can finally find the exact suspicious frog you need.
Fresh from the channel.
💸 If your wallet doesn’t look like this, don’t even bother sending me money for my birthday! 🎂
🤝 Telegram has become the sponsor of Codeforces — the largest competitive programming platform in the world. ⚡CodeForces organizes over 100 coding contests every year and has 4 million contestants signed up. 🌱 Since 2010, I've support...
💸 In just one month, Telegram has awarded over $2,222,000 to some of the brightest minds on our planet. 🎨 This week alone we distributed $222,000 among the winners of our two latest competitions — the Design Contest and the Digital Freed...
🏳️ Gram Wallet in Telegram is ready and is now accessible to a select group of users. 🤩 We'll be gradually rolling it out to our billion+ users over the next couple of weeks. ⚡️ Thanks to the validators who approved the smart contract t...
A high-school student just made $20,000 from a Telegram Gift. Jonathan He, an IOI gold medalist ranked #7 in the world, sold his Algorithm Cup — an NFT we gave to the top young coders this month — for 💎 15,000 Grams. Happy for him. It's...
🚨 Two years ago, I was detained in Paris by police for 3 days — the longest they can hold someone before charging them. In an unprecedented move, French authorities accused the head of a major platform of crimes committed by its users. T...