Telegram Founder Durov’s Arrest Sparks Crypto Community Support

The Telegram team has responded to the arrest of its founder, Pavel Durov, in France, expressing hope for a “swift resolution of this situation.”

“Telegram complies with EU regulations, including the Digital Services Act—its moderation is within industry standards and is constantly improving,” the statement reads.

The statement also emphasized that Durov has nothing to hide and that claims holding him accountable for platform misuse are absurd.

Telegram’s founder was detained on August 24 at Paris’s Le Bourget airport. At the time of writing, his detention has been extended by 48 hours, during which a judge must decide whether to charge Durov or release him.

French authorities argue that the lack of moderation on Telegram and the platform’s reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement make the entrepreneur complicit in crimes committed via the messenger. These include terrorism, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering.

Crypto Community Rallies Behind Durov

Justin Sun proposed creating a DAO to “demonstrate the cryptocurrency industry’s unity” and help Durov legally gain freedom. The Tron founder is willing to donate $1 million to FreePavel DAO if it is implemented “in a decentralized way with sufficient community support.”

We should show the cryptocurrency industry’s unity by organizing a #FreePavel DAO to help Telegram founder Pavel Durov legally gain freedom. I’ll donate $1 million if it’s created in a decentralized way with enough community support. @elonmusk @MarioNawfal

— H.E. Justin Sun 孙宇晨(hiring) (@justinsuntron) August 25, 2024

In the comments, it was noted that Durov is a wealthy individual, and “such things are not done through donations.” According to Forbes, the entrepreneur’s fortune is estimated at $15.5 billion, placing him 120th in the global billionaire rankings.

In a show of support, DWF Labs head Andrei Grachev purchased Toncoin (TON) tokens worth $500,000, pledging to hold the assets until Durov’s release.

We cannot do too much, but I decided support what I could, bought ~500k$ in $TON on open market and will keep them onchain until #FREEDUROV. Not financial advice, I only want to support uncensored and decentralized technology. We are strong together? https://t.co/ARSbWaNI9S pic.twitter.com/Vf05SGWGxg

— Andrei Grachev (@ag_dwf) August 25, 2024

“Not financial advice, I only want to support uncensored and decentralized technology. We are strong together,” Grachev noted.

The Memeland project team also converted $1 million from their treasury into TON, intending to hold the tokens until Durov’s release.

20 hours ago, we converted $1,000,000 of our team treasury into $TON in the open market. We will HODL until #FREEDUROV.

Telegram is the app that our team, most Web3 people, and millions of people use every day. It may have some bad actors, but which platform doesn’t?

This is… pic.twitter.com/E37yymRrcz

— Memeland ❤️ Memecoin (@Memeland) August 25, 2024

“Telegram is the app that our team, most Web3 people, and millions of people use every day. It may have some bad actors, but which platform doesn’t?” the statement reads.

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk expressed support for Durov through a series of posts on his social network X. In one, he reiterated his own statement:

“Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship.”

Elon Musk: Moderation is a propaganda word for censorship. pic.twitter.com/URvTYbFX3t

— ELON DOCS (@elon_docs) August 25, 2024

The entrepreneur also quoted a tweet by Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire.

“Imagine: ‘It’s 1994, and Vint Cerf and Rob Kahn have just been arrested. Their invention (TCP/IP) is used by drug dealers to communicate with each other, and they refused to install a backdoor.’ A similar version just happened with Telegram,” the investor wrote.

Musk accompanied the post with a brief comment: “Exactly.” 

He suggested that similar issues with authorities could arise for X.

Privacy is not a crime.

We live in a world where we supposedly have freedom of speech and privacy.

Then why did the arrest Telegram’s founder.

They want us controlled. They want us silenced. They want us to live according to their narrative.#FREEDUROV pic.twitter.com/1uYaAC8GFV

— Kyle Chassé (@kyle_chasse) August 25, 2024

“Privacy is not a crime. We live in a world where we supposedly have freedom of speech and privacy. Then why was the founder of Telegram arrested? They want us controlled, silenced, and to live according to their narratives,” wrote Bitcoin industry veteran Kyle Chassé.

The price of TON, the token supported by Durov’s The Open Network project, plummeted from around $6.8 to $5.2 following his arrest. The coin’s price stabilized near $5.65, with a 24-hour increase of 0.4% (CoinGecko).

According to DeFi Llama, the volume of assets locked in the TON blockchain has been declining since early August. However, in the past 24 hours, the figure jumped from ~$325 million to ~$389 million.

Back in July, the organization behind the project’s development, TON Foundation, announced the launch of a cross-chain bridge for transferring bitcoins to the platform.