The post Is Crypto to Blame for Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest? appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

In the wake of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s bombshell arrest in France last weekend and subsequent criminal indictment, much is still uncertain—particularly, how the high-stakes drama will impact Telegram’s massive crypto ambitions.  This year, Telegram became perhaps the most prominent company to ever jump with both feet into the cryptosphere. The dominant messaging service encouraged the proliferation of an ecosystem of on-chain, in-app games and services powered by Telegram’s blockchain of choice, The Open Network (TON). Those so-called “mini apps” exploded in popularity this spring, largely thanks to their ability to earn users crypto rewards via token airdrops.  Momentum from mini app activity catapulted Telegram to a record 950 million monthly active users in July, and Telegram has directly embraced TON by using it to pay channel operators a share of advertising revenue, along with launching an in-app currency called Stars that’s linked with TON. The company’s new path appeared so limitless that some TON developers prophesied the app might soon ride its on-chain mini app model to become the West’s version of China’s “everything app,” WeChat. But crypto is also, notoriously, a legally risky sandbox to play in. So now that Telegram appears to have awoken the regulatory beast, could the company’s crypto future be in jeopardy? “How big do they want to get?” The charges filed against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov on Wednesday do not mention cryptocurrency whatsoever. They focus instead on content related to illegal topics like child pornography and drug sales that Durov allegedly allowed to proliferate on his platform.  But the timing of the indictment—in the midst of Telegram’s aggressive push to make crypto-backed financial services a central offering—speaks loudly, according to Seth Goertz, a former U.S. Attorney specializing in cryptocurrency and cybersecurity. “The more they go down that road, the more they’re inviting scrutiny,”…

---

Filed under: News - @ September 2, 2024 6:22 pm