Telegram’s Pavel Durov Discloses Early Bitcoin Investment

Key Takeaways: 

• Telegram founder Pavel Durov reveals that he bought Bitcoin as far back as 2013
• Contrary to popular belief, this lucrative bet has allowed Durov to “stay afloat,” not his Telegram ownership
• Despite the impressive gains, Durov still believes BTC could hit $1 million

Pavel Durov, the founder and chief executive of privacy-focused messaging app Telegram, has revealed that he was an early believer in Bitcoin, and that the asset’s meteoric rise has so far funded his lifestyle. 

The comments come as Durov and Telegram pivot even harder into crypto with its Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain initiative. 

Durov’s Bitcoin Bet Funds His Lifestyle

During a September 30 appearance on the Lex Fridman Podcast, Durov detailed his involvement with digital assets. 

He stated that his initial Bitcoin purchases occurred in 2013, motivated by a belief in its potential as a future monetary system and a tool for financial autonomy, not by short-term profit motives.

Durov invested “a few million dollars” to acquire several thousand Bitcoin at what he described as a “local maximum” of approximately $750 per coin. 

With Bitcoin's value now significantly higher, this early investment has generated a return exceeding 15,400% over the past decade. Although Durov did not specify his current holdings, the appreciation implies that a substantial portion likely remains. 

Durov’s foray into the business world has been quite fascinating. As the founder of Telegram, one of the world’s most popular messaging platforms with an estimated 1 billion-strong user base, his wealth has been a subject of interest for many. 

However, despite being worth an estimated $17.1 billion, Durov maintains that much of his wealth actually doesn’t come from the company he founded. 

Speaking to Fridman, the entrepreneur characterized Telegram as a venture that does not generate personal profit.

According to Durov, the returns from his early investment in Bitcoin have been so substantial that it has served as the principal funds to support his lifestyle. Despite these returns, Durov still believes there's room for growth. He projects that Bitcoin could reach $1 million in the future, citing its use case as a hedge against inflationary pressures. 

TON’s Role In The Crypto Space 

The discussion also covered the Telegram Open Network (TON). Durov explained that the project was developed to address scalability limitations inherent in earlier blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum. 

These networks, he suggested, would be unable to efficiently handle the transaction volume from Telegram's massive user base.

Speaking further on TON’s innovation, Durov highlighted that traditional blockchains, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, remain limited in terms of their scalability. As such, they would struggle to cope with the load from a user base as large as Telegram’s. 

This, according to Durov, necessitated TON—a project that has now been integrated into the Telegram ecosystem and has grown as a home for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and decentralized applications (dApps).