Telegram CEO Pavel Durov revealed that he has held several hundred million dollars in fiat and bitcoin for the past decade.
In an interview with Tucker Carlson, Durov highlighted his simple lifestyle, noting he does not own luxury items such as real estate, jets, or yachts, and prefers focusing on Telegram.
Durov stated that his financial independence has allowed Telegram to avoid venture capital funding, which helped maintain the company’s autonomy. He mentioned that Telegram has raised funds through bonds and a cryptocurrency project but retained control over company equity.
The conversation also touched on the origins of Telegram. Durov recounted a harrowing experience in Russia with armed police at his home due to his refusal to shut down opposition groups on VK, the social networking platform he previously developed. This experience highlighted the necessity for a secure communication platform, which ultimately led to the creation of Telegram.
Durov talked about the future of private communication, sharing his optimism for the development of secure hardware devices akin to cryptocurrency wallets, which he believes could greatly enhance privacy.
Telegram continues to expand its platform’s capabilities, recently introducing an ad revenue-sharing program and enabling toncoin payments for in-platform ad purchases.
The popular messaging app, with around 800 million users, introduced a new incentive program that enables owners of public channels on its platform to earn 50% of the advertisement revenue in Toncoin (TON), the project’s native cryptocurrency. To qualify for this revenue-sharing model, channels must boast a minimum of 1,000 subscribers.
Telegram’s decision to share ad revenues in cryptocurrency marks a pivotal moment for the platform, which generates over one trillion channel views monthly. Channel owners can now withdraw their earnings without any fees, further encouraging participation in the Telegram Ad Platform.
As the third most downloaded messaging app, trailing only behind WhatsApp and Snapchat, Telegram has historically allowed channel owners to monetize their audiences through various methods such as paid posts, membership fees for private channels, and merchandise sales.
