Pavel Durov, the mind behind the Telegram messaging platform, has revealed
that he was an early adopter of Bitcoin. He says he has utilized his
digital currency holdings to support his personal expenditures.
In a recent interview on Lex Fridman’s podcast, the Russian tech leader
explained, “I became a strong proponent of Bitcoin practically from its
inception. I managed to acquire several thousand Bitcoins back in 2013,
and didn’t pay too much attention at the time.”
He elaborated that his purchase occurred near a “local peak” in price,
around $700 per Bitcoin, committing “a couple of million” to the venture.
During the ensuing bear market, when Bitcoin’s value plummeted below $200,
some critics derided his investment. His response was, “I’m not
concerned.”
“I have no plans to sell. I have faith in this concept. I believe this is
the ideal way for money to function. No entity can seize your Bitcoin. No
one can silence you based on political views.”
Bitcoin Provides Financial Stability
Durov stated that his Bitcoin holdings have been instrumental in funding
his lifestyle. “Some assume that my ability to afford upscale locations or
private air travel stems from extracting funds from Telegram,” he
mentioned.
“As I’ve said before, Telegram operates at a financial loss for me
personally. Bitcoin is what has allowed me to remain financially stable.”
He anticipates that “Bitcoin will eventually reach a value of $1 million”
due to governments “indiscriminately printing money.”
“Bitcoin’s supply is not being inflated,” he noted, highlighting its
predictable inflation rate and finite supply. “Bitcoin is a lasting
asset. The future of all fiat currencies remains to be seen.”
Durov’s Perspective on TON
Durov, who faced an arrest in France a year prior relating to Telegram
users’ activities, also discussed the Telegram Open Network (TON). TON was
developed between 2018 and 2019 with the aim of providing a blockchain
solution for the Telegram platform.
He explained that Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) lacked “sufficient scalability
to handle the volume generated by our hundreds of millions of users.”
Its primary innovation lay in its inherent scalability through
“shardchains,” he said. Despite successfully engineering the technology,
Telegram could not proceed with its launch due to regulatory barriers
within the United States.
The project, now known as The Open Network, has become deeply integrated
into the Telegram environment and has gained traction for non-fungible
tokens (NFTs).
“I believe TON has emerged as either the leading or second-largest
blockchain with respect to daily NFT trading volumes.”
Toncoin (TON), the network’s native cryptocurrency, achieved a peak value
of $8.25 in mid-2024, but has since experienced a decline of over 67% from
that high point.