Telegram Founder Pavel Durov and TON: Navigating Legal Challenges and a Decentralized Future

Pavel Durov, the founder and CEO of Telegram, has consistently advocated for an online environment that prioritizes user privacy and freedom. His journey, however, has been marked by both bold technological innovation and significant regulatory hurdles. This article explores the complex situation concerning Durov's recent legal battles, Telegram's commitment to a decentralized future through The Open Network (TON) ecosystem, and the broader implications for digital freedom.

Pavel Durov's Legal Challenges and Their Context

Pavel Durov's leadership of Telegram has recently brought him into the spotlight for reasons extending beyond technological innovation. In August 2024, Durov was arrested in France, an event that ignited international discussion about platform liability and free speech. He was indicted on August 28, 2024, on twelve charges, including "complicity in child sexual exploitation and drug trafficking on Telegram due to insufficient moderation" and refusal to cooperate with judicial officials. This marked an "unprecedented" development, as described by University of Toronto policy researcher John Scott-Railton, for a technology platform CEO to face such charges due to moderation issues.

 

Following his indictment, Durov was released on €5 million bail and placed under judicial supervision, initially restricting his travel outside France. While these conditions were later softened in March and July 2025 to allow temporary departures from France, his movements remain restricted. Durov has consistently denied wrongdoing, stating that Telegram "abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act – its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving". He expressed being "puzzled" by the charges and denied claims of not responding to legally binding requests.

Following Events

The arrest prompted significant international outcry from free-speech activists and tech leaders, who condemned it as an attack on fundamental rights and a dangerous precedent. Edward Snowden, Elon Musk, and Tucker Carlson were among those who voiced strong opposition, with Snowden calling it "an assault on the basic human rights of speech and association". Conversely, French President Emmanuel Macron denied any "political motive," emphasizing France's commitment to freedom within the framework of law. The incident also strained French–Russian relations, with Russian diplomats accusing France of a "witch-hunt".

 

Telegram's content policies are characterized by a minimal content restriction approach, forbidding only calls to violence, illegal pornography, and scamming, which Durov believes prevents conspiracy theories from strengthening. This approach has led to the platform's use by diverse groups, from pro-democracy movements to extremists.

 

Despite this, Telegram has engaged in efforts to combat illegal content, including a partnership with Europol to eliminate IS presence, and Durov stated, "We take down millions of harmful posts and channels every day". Following Durov's arrest, Telegram did make some changes, dropping its 'People Nearby' feature and beginning to share certain user information in response to law enforcement requests. However, Durov has steadfastly maintained Telegram's refusal to compromise user privacy by providing encryption keys or building backdoors, a stance he took earlier when leaving VKontakte in Russia in 2014.

The Evolution of Telegram's Blockchain Vision

Pavel Durov's vision extends beyond secure messaging to a decentralized internet, leading to the creation of The Open Network (TON). Telegram's foray into blockchain began in January 2018 with the original Telegram Open Network (TON) and its cryptocurrency, Gram. The project successfully raised $1.7 billion from investors.

 

However, this ambitious venture faced a major setback when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained an emergency injunction in October 2019, alleging that Gram tokens constituted an unregistered securities offering. Telegram ultimately settled with the SEC in June 2020, agreeing to repay investors and pay a civil penalty, formally ceasing its work on TON. Pavel Durov acknowledged that the U.S. regulatory environment forced the abandonment of the project.

 

Despite this regulatory hurdle, Telegram open-sourced the TON codebase under GPL v2. This allowed independent developers Anatoliy Makosov and Kirill Emelyanenko to resurrect and evolve the network, forming the non-profit TON Foundation in Switzerland in 2021 and renaming the native asset to Toncoin. This community-driven revival enabled Durov's original technical vision for a decentralized network to continue, eventually leading to its deep integration into the Telegram messaging platform. The core motivation for this integration is to create a "decentralized and open internet designed to onboard 500 million people on-chain".

Understanding The Open Network (TON) Ecosystem

The Open Network (TON) ecosystem is a comprehensive suite of decentralized technologies deeply integrated within Telegram, aiming to make Web3 as seamless as Web2 for its massive user base.

Core Blockchain: The Open Network (TON)

A decentralized layer-1 blockchain designed for enhanced scalability, parallel processing, and efficiency. It features a hierarchical multi-blockchain structure with dynamic sharding, capable of handling millions of smart contracts and thousands of transactions every second.

 

It incorporates a modified Proof-of-Stake (PoS) consensus mechanism along with Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT) and on-chain validator voting for its governance model. The TON Virtual Machine (TVM) runs smart contracts that are compiled from programming languages such as Fift, FunC, Tact, and Tolk.

Native Cryptocurrency: Toncoin (TON)

The TON blockchain’s utility token is crucial for transaction fees, staking, executing smart contracts, and governing the protocol. It is utilized for rewarding creators and developers, acquiring ads on Telegram, facilitating giveaways, and subscribing to Telegram Premium services. It allows users to transfer cryptocurrency to any Telegram user without incurring commissions.

Integrated Wallets within Telegram

• @wallet bot: Introduced in April 2022, facilitating peer-to-peer Toncoin transfers directly within Telegram chats.
• TON Space: A self-custodial, browser-based wallet embedded in Telegram, launched in September 2023, giving users full control over their private keys and access to DeFi services within the app. This significantly aids user onboarding for TON-based DeFi products.

TON-based Services for a Decentralized Internet

• TON DNS: A decentralized domain name system for human-readable ".ton" domains, resistant to censorship.
• TON Sites & TON Proxy: Decentralized web hosting and an anonymity protocol similar to Tor for privacy-preserving services.
• TON Storage: A distributed file storage system for large files, fragmented and stored across peer-to-peer nodes, with providers compensated in Toncoin.
• TON Payments: An off-chain payment system for micropayments and high-frequency transactions, reducing latency and fees.

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) on TON

• Tonstakers: A leading non-custodial liquid staking protocol, managing 80% of all TON in liquid staking by 2025 and serving over 100,000 users.
• KTON: Another liquid staking protocol built using TON Core Team’s Liquid Staking Contract V2 framework.
• STON.fi: A decentralized exchange (DEX) using an automated market maker (AMM) model for swapping TON-based assets.
• Tonkeeper: A widely used non-custodial wallet application for managing Toncoin and Jetton-standard tokens, accessing DeFi, and interacting with smart contracts.

Telegram Mini Apps and Gaming

Mini Apps allow developers to reach Telegram's vast audience through easy one-click launches and built-in monetization features. TON facilitates engaging decentralized games, as seen with GAMEE (which boasts more than 104 million players) and Miomi Game (with over $94 million awarded in prizes), enabling gamers to earn cryptocurrency. AdsGram is transforming the monetization landscape for mini apps native to Telegram.

Recent Advancements and Growth in the TON Ecosystem

The TON ecosystem has experienced rapid expansion and deeper integration within Telegram, showcasing significant growth and innovation in recent years.

Significant User Growth and Profitability

Telegram now boasts over 1 billion active users. In 2024, the platform achieved profitability for the first time, with revenues exceeding $1 billion, providing financial strength for further TON development.

Enhanced Wallet Functionality 

A major wallet upgrade in March 2025 introduced trading and staking features to 100 million users on Telegram, significantly broadening access to DeFi functionalities for a massive user base. This builds upon the existing @wallet bot and the self-custodial TON Space wallet.

Stablecoin Integration

The issuance of a native TON version of Tether (USDT) in April 2024 is a crucial step towards making digital payments more accessible and stable within the ecosystem. Stablecoins are increasingly seen as a solution for global payments, with global transaction volumes reaching $5 trillion by August 2025.

Ecosystem Performance and Celebrity Engagement

The TON ecosystem demonstrated "breakthrough performance" in July 2025, marked by significant growth and celebrity partnerships, such as Snoop Dogg's $12 million Telegram Gifts drop. Transaction speeds have also improved 10x faster.

Loyalty and Monetization Programs

The launch of the TON Loyalty Program aims to make Web3 feel even more seamless within Telegram, rewarding user engagement. Additionally, Telegram's Ad Platform and revenue-sharing with channel owners further integrate economic incentives using Toncoin.

Gaming and NFTs

The Telegram-native gaming scene is rapidly expanding, with platforms like GAMEE and Miomi Game attracting millions of players and offering crypto-earning opportunities. TON NFTs are also gaining traction as affordable, fast, and useful digital collectibles.

DeFi Expansion

Protocols like Tonstakers have become dominant in liquid staking, managing 80% of all TON in liquid staking by 2025 and serving over 100,000 users. Tonstakers Earn has expanded opportunities for DeFi strategies.

Navigating Regulatory Pressures

Pavel Durov's ongoing legal battles highlight the critical juncture between decentralized platforms and traditional regulatory bodies. The charges against Durov, specifically the "complicity" argument regarding Telegram's moderation, set a "dangerous precedent" where platform founders could be held personally liable for user-generated content.

 

This raises concerns about stifling innovation across the tech sector and underscores the tension between government demands for access to user data and Telegram's commitment to end-to-end encryption and user privacy. Digital rights groups fear that French authorities might attempt to force Durov to provide encryption keys or build backdoors, echoing past attempts by Russia. Durov has consistently affirmed that Telegram would rather exit a jurisdiction than compromise user privacy.

 

Following his arrest, Telegram made efforts to balance privacy with compliance by announcing it would share certain user information in response to law enforcement requests and by dropping features like 'People Nearby'. However, increased governmental demands for content control could potentially contradict Telegram's libertarian principles and impact the perception of its decentralized ecosystem. The controversy surrounding Durov's arrest has also sparked concerns about its influence on public trust in platforms promising decentralized freedom, even as TON strives to onboard millions to Web3. 

The Future of Decentralized Platforms

The outcome of Durov's legal battle could either reinforce the idea that privacy-focused platforms are sustainable or embolden other governments to take similar actions, potentially creating more regulatory uncertainty for the broader crypto ecosystem.

 

Despite these significant challenges, Telegram's strong user base and the robust development of the TON ecosystem suggest a resilient path forward. The platform's ability to adapt to regulatory pressures while maintaining its core principles will be crucial for the continued success of Pavel Durov's vision for mainstream crypto adoption and a decentralized digital future.