Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Early Bitcoin Investment
Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov revealed he invested in Bitcoin early. On Lex Fridman’s podcast, he said he bought a few thousand Bitcoins in 2013. At that time, the price was around $700 per coin.
Durov said, “I was a big believer in Bitcoin since more or less the start of it.” He admitted the price later dropped below $200 but stayed confident. “I don’t care. I’m not going to sell it. I believe in this thing,” he added.
Bitcoin as a Financial Safety Net
Durov explained Bitcoin helps fund his lifestyle. He uses it for renting luxury places and flying private. He noted Telegram operates at a loss for him personally. “Bitcoin is something that allowed me to stay afloat,” he said.
He also predicted Bitcoin could reach $1 million. Durov cited ongoing government money printing as a key reason. “Nobody’s printing Bitcoin. It has predictable inflation and will stop being made at a certain point,” he explained.
TON Blockchain and NFT Market
Durov discussed Telegram’s blockchain project, the Telegram Open Network (TON). Created in 2018-2019, TON aimed to support Telegram’s millions of users with scalable blockchain technology. He said Bitcoin and Ethereum could not handle this efficiently.
The main innovation was shardchains, which allow high scalability. Regulatory issues stopped Telegram from fully launching TON in the US. However, the project continues as The Open Network.
TON is now a major player in NFT trading. Its native token, Toncoin, trades at $2.67 with a market cap near $6.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
