Telegram just cracked open Wall Street—right inside your chat app. The messaging giant's Crypto Wallet now lets users trade tokenized shares of major U.S. companies like NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple, plus four ETFs, all settled in USDT. Trading runs 24/7, bypassing traditional exchange hours entirely.
Driving the news: The feature went live in late October through a partnership with crypto exchange Kraken and tokenization platform Backed Finance. Users access it via a dedicated "Stocks and Funds" section in Telegram Crypto Wallet.
Why it matters: No minimum deposits, no waiting for market open, no traditional broker gatekeeping—accessible to Telegram's 900 million users worldwide who want a piece of American enterprise.
How it works: You're trading tracker certificates issued by Backed Assets under European regulatory frameworks—digital IOUs backed by real stocks, tokenized on-chain and settled through Kraken's liquidity in USDT.
By the numbers:
- Several dozen U.S. company stocks available at launch
- Four ETFs: SPDR, TQQQ, Invesco QQQ Trust, and VTI
- Dividend payments: Yes, tokenized shareholders get them
The fine print: This feature explicitly excludes U.S. persons—regulatory restrictions mean if you're stateside, you're locked out. The SEC hasn't greenlit crypto platforms for on-chain U.S. equities to retail customers, and companies like Coinbase are still navigating that approval maze.
Between the lines: Tracker certificates give you economic exposure but not direct shareholder rights like voting until you redeem them for actual shares.
The backstory: Kraken and Backed previously rolled out tokenized U.S. equities to non-U.S. customers in May.
What's next: Telegram plans to expand access to more regions and potentially add assets beyond the initial offerings by year-end. But the big question mark? How U.S. regulators respond as tokenized securities blur the lines between crypto and traditional finance. For now, American traders will have to watch from the sidelines.
Reality check: You gain accessibility and round-the-clock trading; you lose regulatory protections and direct ownership clarity. Know what you're buying before you click.
