Pavel Durov Discusses Bitcoin Holdings, Telegram IPO, and Government Requests

Telegram’s founder, Pavel Durov, revealed in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson that he solely owns the messaging app and keeps part of his savings in Bitcoin.

Durov stated that he initially rejected the idea of attracting venture capital for Telegram’s development to maintain independence—“the company’s goals and mission might conflict with the priorities of investment funds.”

Moreover, the entrepreneur admitted that he never considered money in the context of Telegram, as it does not align with his lifestyle.

“I have several hundred million dollars in a bank account, bitcoins acquired 10 years ago, but I do nothing with them. I don’t spend them on real estate, planes, or yachts,” Durov stated.

His main priority is freedom, as acquiring things “ties you to a physical location.” Additionally, he prefers to focus on work and the development of Telegram.

“I want to make decisions that will affect the communication of a billion people, not choose the color of seats in a house,” the businessman noted.

The only external funds the messenger received were from bond issuance and the launch of the cryptocurrency project Telegram Open Network (TON). There was never any talk of selling a stake in the company.

Durov mentioned that he is also the sole project manager of Telegram. The development team consists of 30 engineers. New employees are recruited through specialized competitions.

Durov shared his idea of hiring fewer specialists for the company’s effective operation with Jack Dorsey, then head of Twitter. Dorsey replied that laying off a large number of employees could scare shareholders.

“Managing a public company is less efficient than a private one due to increased bureaucracy and the need to report to a larger number of people. Of course, there are many advantages to being listed on the stock exchange—such as access to external capital,” Durov explained.

According to him, Telegram currently does not plan an IPO, although such a possibility is not ruled out in the future. The messenger’s team is currently focused on reaching 1 billion monthly users within a year.

Durov describes Telegram’s growth as “organic.” Users appreciate the product for its features, speed, and security, recommending it to friends while comparing it to other services. According to Durov, the latter still copy what Telegram implemented six years ago.

The entrepreneur also spoke about pressure on the messenger from governments of various countries. Some of the requests received were legitimate—concerning groups promoting violence or terrorist activities. Others crossed the line—encroaching on freedom of speech and privacy. Telegram ignores the latter.

Additionally, the FBI attempted to recruit one of the messenger’s engineers to embed certain tools in the code, which would evidently become backdoors.

“Telegram does not want to be a political player and is developing as a neutral and impartial platform,” Durov emphasized.

He acknowledged the significant responsibility for safeguarding user data:

“We haven’t become paranoid, but I think it makes sense to remain cautious: not being too accessible, not traveling to strange places like major geopolitical powers—China, Russia, or the USA.”

Speaking about potential interest in him from the NSA, Durov did not rule out that the devices he uses might have been compromised.

“My phone might have been infiltrated by [spyware] Pegasus, for example—I don’t know if it’s true or not—but that’s the only possible way to access information about me. I have very limited trust in US-developed platforms in terms of privacy,” the businessman said.

In conclusion, Durov expressed hope for the future emergence of a device for secure and confidential communication “analogous to cold cryptocurrency wallets.”

Back in April, at the Token2049 conference in Dubai, Durov will present “the first real and valuable use case for TON, which will be available to all 900 million active Telegram users.”