Early investments in Bitcoin enabled Pavel Durov to finance personal expenses, while Telegram remains an unprofitable venture for him. The entrepreneur shared this in an interview with podcaster Lex Fridman.
Betting on Digital Gold
According to Durov, in 2013 he purchased several thousand bitcoins at around $700 each, investing a total of about $2 million. The following year, the cryptocurrency’s value dropped to $200. However, the future founder of Telegram retained the assets, emphasizing his belief in the decentralized nature of digital gold.
“I am not going to sell it. I believe in it and think this is how money should work. Bitcoin cannot be confiscated or blocked due to politics. It is the perfect medium of exchange,” Durov stated.
The entrepreneur noted that it was the first cryptocurrency, not Telegram, that became the source of his wealth, allowing him to pay for housing rent and private jet flights. According to him, the messenger remains an unprofitable project.
Durov stressed that choosing Bitcoin as a store of value is linked to the philosophy of freedom, which he values above all. In the podcast, the businessman explained that the limited issuance of digital gold protects it from devaluation, unlike fiat currencies, which governments “print like crazy.” He predicted Bitcoin’s rise to $1 million.
TON’s Reboot
Durov recalled the development of TON in 2018-2019. The project was conceived as a scalable blockchain for the Telegram ecosystem.
According to him, Bitcoin and Ethereum cannot handle the load from hundreds of millions of users, so TON used shardchain technology. However, due to regulatory constraints in the United States, the team could not accomplish the task.
Now renamed The Open Network, the network is integrated into the messenger’s ecosystem and occupies a leading position in daily trading volumes of NFTs. The native token Toncoin reached a peak of $8.25 in mid-2024, but then fell by 67%.
Back in August last year, in France, Pavel Durov was charged with facilitating crimes committed by Telegram users.