Pavel Durov Leaves France: The Impact on Toncoin

In March 2025, Pavel Durov, the CEO and founder of Telegram, left France and returned to Dubai despite ongoing legal investigations. Arrested in August 2024, Durov had been placed under judicial restrictions in France, but authorities returned his passport, allowing him to leave the country.

This departure had a direct impact on the crypto market, with Toncoin, the cryptocurrency associated with Telegram, seeing a 67% increase in open interest. Additionally, the price of Toncoin rose by 17%, reaching $3.45. Market movements fueled speculation regarding the future of the cryptocurrency and the Telegram platform.

In this context, Telegram has started cooperating more actively with U.S. authorities and announced that it would discontinue support for other blockchains in favor of Ton Network exclusively, reinforcing its commitment to the Ton ecosystem. This shift comes amid stricter cryptocurrency regulations and growing legal demands targeting encrypted messaging platforms.