French regulators have extended the detention of Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov after he was arrested at a Paris airport. He faces allegations that his messaging app fosters activities like money laundering and drug trafficking.
Durov was reportedly traveling on his private jet from Azerbaijan. A French arrest warrant targeted him as part of a preliminary investigation.
The Open Network [TON], the third-party blockchain protocol that the messaging platform integrated into its service, claimed to remain fully functional post the arrest of the executive. Via a post on X, the team assured,
“Following the recent news related to the Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov, we want to assure everyone that the TON community remains strong and fully operational.”
TON’s price dropped to a low of $5.3 on the heels of the arrest. However, it has managed to partially erase its loss. At press time on Monday, the asset was seen exchanging hands at $5.6.
Members from the crypto community have been expressing their dissent over the arrest of Durov. Tether’s executive Paolo Ardoino said,
“The arrest of Pavel Durov for enabling free speech communications through Telegram is very concerning. If we, as a society, lose the battle to defend freedom of speech and communication, nothing else won't matter, dark ages will be our future.”
Elon Musk shared an interview of Durov and independent journalist Tucker Carlson with the hashtag #FreePavel on X, while Ethereum founder Vitalik Buterin said that the initial information regarding the charges against the platform looked “very bad and worrying for the future of software and comms freedom in Europe.”
Meanwhile, Tron’s Justin Sun suggested that the industry should create a FreePavel DAO to assist the Telegram founder “legally gain freedom.” He also pledged to donate $1 million if it is created in a decentralized manner and garners enough community support.
In a similar case, crypto mixer Tornado Cash’s developers are currently fighting legal battles in the US and the Netherlands. Alexey Pertsev and Roman Storm face money laundering charges.
An advocacy group called JusticeDAO was created a few months back to cover funds for the developers’ legal fees. Towards the end of May, the fundraiser “Free Alexey & Roman” on Juicebox had amassed more than $2.19 million.
