Tonkeeper is the best alternative to Wallet in Telegram for United States residents

Even though the Wallet in Telegram mini app doesn't provide its services to users from the United States, there are great alternative options

Hello,

The Wallet in Telegram mini app is unfortunately not available to residents of the United States.

Wallet in Telegram started implementing stricter KYC (know your customer rules) in June of 2024, requiring users to provide their name, phone number and date of birth to access most features of the wallet. This means that users from restricted jurisdictions became unable to access the wallet.

The Wallet in Telegram has three different KYC levels:

* Level 1: Only requires users to provide their phone number to start using the wallet. However, they won’t be able to deposit or withdraw any crypto.

* Level 2: Requires users to verify their identity by providing their name, surname, date of birth and home address. After completing Level 2 verification, users will gain access to all features of the wallet, including the ability to deposit and withdraw crypto.

* Level 3: For users who want to use advanced features such as futures trading and borrowing, they will need to complete Level 3 verification by verifying their bank card.

If you were previously located in the United States but aren’t anymore, it’s possible that the Wallet in Telegram still won’t let you access its services. If you’re not a citizen or resident of the United States but still get an “unsupported region” error, you should contact the Wallet’s support. Most likely, you will need to provide proof of residence to restore access to your account.

Alternative Telegram wallet for United States users

Even though the Wallet in Telegram mini app doesn’t provide its services to users from the United States, there are great alternative options that are available if you’re in the US.

We recommend using Tonkeeper, which is a non-custodial TON Blockchain wallet that has no identity verification requirements. You can access Tonkeeper as a mobile app, browser extension, desktop app or as a Telegram mini app.

In this example, we’ll show you how to set up a Tonkeeper wallet as a Telegram mini app, since it provides the closest experience to the Wallet in Telegram.

First, head over to t.me/tonkeeper and click "Start Bot".

Once your Telegram chat opens, click the "Start" button.

Then, click on the blue "Keeper" button and a window will appear prompting you to get started with setting up your wallet. Select the "New Wallet" option (unless you already have a TON Blockchain wallet you would like to import).

The wallet will automatically generate a recovery phrase for you. Grab a pen and a piece of paper, write down the recovery phrase and store it in a safe location.

We strongly recommend that you don't store your recovery phrase on any device that's connected to the internet. Never reveal your recovery phrase to anyone else, as it provides full access to the cryptocurrency in your wallet.

Next, you will be asked to provide a password for your wallet. You will use this password to access your Tonkeeper wallet app. Use a secure password to protect your wallet against unauthorized access.

That's it, your wallet is good to go! Deposit some TON or other supported tokens, and you can start using it in the TON Blockchain ecosystem.

The bottom line

While the Telegram Wallet app is very convenient to use and offers some nice features such as the ability to directly buy crypto, it has some serious flaws.

Notably, the wallet isn't available to users from several countries, including the United States. On top of that, it's also a custodial wallet, which means users don't have full control over their private keys and need to trust the wallet's operator to keep their crypto safe.

If you're a user from the United States and are looking for a wallet to store TON and other tokens on the TON blockchain, we recommend using the Tonkeeper wallet, which has no geographical restrictions. It's also a non-custodial wallet that gives you full control over your private keys.

If you’re interested in learning more about the Telegram crypto ecosystem, make sure to check our list of the best Telegram crypto trading bots.

output: Hello,

The official Telegram Wallet is a convenient mini app that allows users to store cryptocurrencies and interact with the TON blockchain directly from their Telegram account. However, the service is currently not available to residents of the United States.

Earlier this year, Wallet in Telegram began implementing stricter KYC (know your customer rules), requiring users to provide their name, phone number, and date of birth to access most features of the wallet. This measure was introduced in June to comply with regulations in several major socioeconomic blocks and to provide a smoother user experience.

As a result of these changes, users in restricted jurisdictions, such as the United States, became unable to access the wallet.

If you were previously located in the U.S. but have since moved, you may still encounter issues accessing the Telegram wallet. However, if you are not a citizen or resident