The founder of the messaging platform Telegram, Pavel Durov, has been handed back his passport from French authorities. This move shows signs that his ongoing legal battle could be drawing to a close.
Durov has been detained in France since August 2024 after arriving on a private jet at Le Bourget Airport. He was arrested under claims that Telegram was being under-moderated, allowing it to be a hotbed of illegal activity.
TON Foundation Celebrates Pavel Durov's Passport Return
TON Foundation is delighted to learn that Pavel Durov's passport has been returned to him by French authorities, granting him the freedom to leave the country at his discretion.
This news marks a significant moment of… pic.twitter.com/KkNG7UnJBg
— TON 💎 (@ton_blockchain) March 15, 2025
TON X Account Confirms That Durov Is Able To Travel Freely Once Again
The official Toncoin (TON) account issued a statement on X, confirming French authorities returned Durov’s passport to him, allowing him the freedom to leave the country.
“This news marks a significant moment of resolution,” TON posted. “With nearly a billion users worldwide, Telegram represents a global movement committed to the freedom of communication and the inalienable right to privacy. As part of the decentralized TON community, we have stood in solidarity with Pavel, supporting his unwavering dedication to defending the right to free speech and privacy online.”
TON, formerly known as the ‘Telegram Open Network,’ is a layer-1 blockchain originally built for Telegram. In 2023, Telegram acknowledged TON as its official Web3 infrastructure, integrating it into its user interface.
Due to a 2020 settlement with the SEC, TON and its native Toncoin became separate from Telegram. After the settlement, Telegram agreed to stop developing TON, and a group of independent devs continued the project.
However, TON has stayed synonymous with Telegram, with both platforms supporting one another even though they are in different stages of development.
TON Spikes Over 20% In A Week Since The Telegram Founder Regained His Passport
( COINGECKO )
In response to the news of Durov’s newfound freedom, Toncoin (TON) has surged over 20% in the past 24 hours. It is currently trading at $3.43 and has a market cap of $8.5 billion.
The news has also brought a fresh injection of trading volume for TON, which has averaged over $500 million daily since the news broke. This is up more than 100% from a week ago, when TON was averaging around $220 million in volume.
In January, the TON Foundation said it would focus on the US market to grow operations. It aimed to capitalize on the Trump administration’s more favorable regulatory environment regarding crypto and social media.
This injection of bullish sentiment within the TON community comes at a good time, with Bitcoin looking bottomed and economists calling for $126,000 BTC by June .
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Telegram founder Pavel Durov regains his passport from French authorities
- After being arrested in August 2024, Durov is now once again free to travel
- Durov was arrested as authorities claim he allowed Telegram to operate as a hotbed for illegal activity
- Telegram-linked crypto, TON, spikes over 20% with the news of Pavel’s newly-found freedom
- Best Wallet (BEST) hits $11.1m in presale funding as its swathe of features and multi-chain nature result in fresh wave of app downloads