Telegram founder Pavel Durov revealed that his personal wealth comes not from his messaging app but from holding bitcoin.
In a recent interview on the Lex Fridman Podcast, the Russian-born entrepreneur said his early investment in bitcoin more than a decade ago has allowed him to be financially independent.
“I was a big believer in Bitcoin since more or less the start of it,” Durov said. “I got to buy my first few thousand bitcoin in 2013, and I didn’t care much. I just threw a couple of million there.”
At the time, BTC was around $700 per coin, near its first major peak. When the price later crashed below $200, Durov said he wasn’t worried. He noted that although people mocked him when prices fell, he remained confident in his belief. “I don’t care. I believe in this thing,” he recalled.
He said his conviction came from Bitcoin being a censorship-resistant form of money. “Nobody can confiscate your bitcoin from you. Nobody can censor you for political reasons,” he said.
Durov made it clear that his comfortable lifestyle — flying private, renting luxury properties and running Telegram’s massive operation — doesn’t come from company profits.
“Some people think if I’m able to rent nice locations or fly private, it’s because I somehow extract money from Telegram,” he said. “Like I said, Telegram is a money-losing operation for me personally. Bitcoin is something that allowed me to stay afloat.”
Telegram, which he fully owns, only became profitable in 2024. Despite being one of the world’s largest messaging apps, Durov said it has never relied on intrusive ads or selling user data.
“We had to innovate a lot in order to reach a point where we are profitable, without having to resort to dubious business activities involving exploiting personal data of users,” he said.
The app now makes money through premium subscriptions and developer tools, such as in-app payments and blockchain-based mini-apps. In 2025, Telegram reportedly had 15 million paid subscribers and generated over $500 million in premium revenue.
Beyond his personal wealth, Durov is a strong believer in bitcoin’s long-term future. He thinks it will reach $1m per coin as governments keep printing more money.
“Governments keep printing money like no tomorrow,” he said. “Nobody’s printing bitcoin,” adding that BTC has a fixed supply and controlled issuance, so no more will be created once it hits the limit.
Durov calls Bitcoin “the way money should work,” and praises its decentralization and limited supply. “Bitcoin is here to stay,” he said. “All the fiat currencies remain to be seen.”
He’s not alone in his confidence. There are other early BTC investors who held onto their coins through the years of volatility. Durov’s faith in the asset is what many in the community call the “HODL” mentality – holding through the downturns with faith in long-term growth.
Durov’s story goes hand in hand with Telegram’s evolution and his personal challenges. He was arrested in France in 2024, accused of facilitating crimes through Telegram.
He has denied any wrongdoing and said the platform would rather leave the market than share user data with governments.
“Telegram has never shared a single private message with anyone, including governments and intelligence services,” Durov said.
“You don’t like privacy, and you think you should ban encryption in your country, like the EU is trying to do now for all its member states? Well, go ahead. We’ll quit this market.”
He’s been criticized and praised for this stance on privacy. He’s one of the few tech founders who has refused to compromise on encryption and user independence.
Along with his bitcoin investment, Durov worked on The Open Network (TON), a blockchain project originally meant to power Telegram’s ecosystem.
Although regulatory hurdles in the U.S. prevented Telegram from launching TON directly, it has since thrived as an independent, community-driven network.
