I recently learned a story that made me reconsider my attitude towards built-in wallets. Russian activists discovered that their funds simply disappeared from a Telegram wallet without explanation or the possibility of appeal. The reason? They were added to the government’s black list. No warning, no justice, just a block.

The Telegram wallet team claims they are simply following AML and KYC standards. It sounds logical, but if you look closer, it’s just a cover-up. When authorities want to freeze someone’s assets, the system will do it. And this isn’t about protecting against financial crimes, but about control.

Many people still consider a Telegram wallet a reliable alternative to banks. But honestly? That’s not true. The difference is that you don’t control your funds. They are controlled by the company behind the service. The Open Platform — that’s the organization holding your money, not you. It’s a custodial wallet, which means complete dependence on a third party.

When the company decides to block an account or when the government demands it, your assets will be frozen. If it happened once, it can happen again. The story with the activist is not an exception; it’s a demonstration of how the system works.

If financial independence is important to you, you should store crypto assets in non-custodial wallets. Tonkeeper, Trust Wallet, MetaMask — these are where you truly control your private keys. Only you. No one can freeze your funds because no one but you has access.

A Telegram wallet is convenient, but convenience here comes at the cost of freedom. Remember the classic rule: if the keys aren’t yours, the coins aren’t yours. This remains true regardless of how beautiful the service’s interface is.