French authorities have granted Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov temporary permission to leave the country, loosening his restrictions under an ongoing criminal investigation, according to French news outlet AFP.
Durov reportedly departed for Dubai on Saturday morning after an investigating judge approved his request to travel for several weeks.
Following news of Durov’s travel permission, the platform’s native cryptocurrency, Toncoin, surged nearly 20% in 24 hours to $3.50, pushing its market capitalization past $8.5 billion.
Durov was arrested at a Paris airport in August 2024 and placed under formal investigation on six preliminary charges, including allegations that Telegram facilitated illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and the distribution of child abuse material.
French prosecutors claim that Telegram refused to cooperate with authorities in curbing these activities.
In response to mounting legal pressure, Telegram ramped up its moderation efforts, expanding its team of moderators to over 750 contractors and updating its terms of service to curb illicit content.
However, Durov has strongly criticized the case, arguing that laws from the “pre-smartphone era” should not be used to hold platform executives criminally liable for user-generated content.
The platform became profitable for the first time in 2024, with revenue surpassing $1 billion and its premium subscriber base tripling to 12 million.
Crypto has played a major role in its revenue model, with Telegram selling hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency, including Toncoin.
Crypto market movers
- Bitcoin has gained 0.5% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $84,200.
- Ethereum is up 0.2% over the same period to $1,920.
What we’re reading
- Arthur Hayes sees Bitcoin bottoming before equities, then surging to $250,000. ‘They always print money’ — DL News
- Are we entering a bear market? — Milk Road
- Tokenized Treasuries Grow 20X Faster Than Stablecoins as Crypto Market Languishes ― Unchained
- Canada’s next prime minister race a dead heat between a Bitcoin advocate and CBDC backer — DL News
Kyle Baird is DL News’ Weekend Editor. Got a tip? Email at [email protected].
