Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov recently shared that his early investment in Bitcoin (BTC) has been crucial for funding his lifestyle. Speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast, Durov revealed he purchased his first few thousand Bitcoin in 2013 when the price was around $700 per BTC, which he called a "local maximum."
Despite the cryptocurrency's price tanking below $200 in the subsequent bear market, Durov remained committed, telling those who ridiculed him that he "doesn’t care" because he believes in Bitcoin's potential as a censorship-resistant form of money.
Durov addressed the speculation that he extracts money from Telegram, clarifying that the messaging app is actually a "money-losing operation" for him personally, and his Bitcoin holdings are what have allowed him to "stay afloat."
A staunch believer in the asset, Durov predicted that Bitcoin will eventually be worth $1 million. He argues that this will happen because of governments "printing money like no tomorrow," contrasting this with Bitcoin's predictable and finite supply.
Durov also touched upon the Telegram Open Network (TON), a blockchain project Telegram developed in 2018-2019. The intention was to create a scalable platform for Telegram's hundreds of millions of users, as Durov felt that Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) were not sufficient.
The project’s key innovation was "shardchains" for inherent scalability. However, Telegram was unable to launch it due to US regulatory restrictions. The project, now known as The Open Network, has since become deeply integrated with the Telegram ecosystem and has seen significant momentum, particularly in the non-fungible token (NFT) space, becoming one of the largest blockchains by daily NFT trading volume. While its native token, Toncoin (TON), hit an all-time high of $8.25 in mid-2024, it has since fallen significantly.
October 2025, Cryptoniteuae