Most Influential: Pavel Durov

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The Telegram CEO whitethorn basal arsenic the astir pivotal fig successful the bona fide wide adoption of cryptocurrency.

Dec 15, 2025, 3:00 p.m.

As CEO of billion-user messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov whitethorn basal arsenic the astir pivotal fig successful bona fide wide adoption of cryptocurrency for galore observers.

By embedding the wallet for the TON blockchain into its fashionable messaging app, Telegram aims to region immoderate of the astir cumbersome elements of interacting with crypto, specified arsenic remembering effect phrases and registering connected an exchange. In short, Durov wants to marque Telegram the biggest mass-market crypto on-ramp, offering integer plus services done an interface that's arsenic elemental arsenic sending a message.

In 2025, Telegram garnered attraction from nary little a prospective capitalist than the world's largest plus manager, BlackRock. Telegram raised $1.7 cardinal via convertible bonds successful a tender offer, which closed successful precocious May, that drew the involvement of investors including BlackRock, Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealthiness money Mubadala and hedge money Citadel.

Durov is known arsenic a staunch advocator of privateness and escaped speech, which formed portion of his information for the instauration of Telegram successful 2014. However, his estimation sometimes precedes him erstwhile it comes to instrumentality enforcement agencies. In August of 2024, French authorities confiscated his passport and imposed a question prohibition connected him pursuing preliminary charges related to complicity successful cause trafficking, wealth laundering and fraud done Telegram. When helium recovered his passport successful March this year, the TON token jumped 20% connected the news.

While Durov and Telegram, successful general, whitethorn stay controversial, according to immoderate observers, 2025 besides saw the app show a determination to ace down connected unlawful usage of its platform, which would different tarnish it with the brushwood of crime, fraud, and truthful on. This year, Telegram shut down illicit crypto-centric marketplaces Xinbi and Haowang, formerly Huione, successful concern with blockchain sleuths Elliptic. The 2 marketplaces were thought to person processed transactions worthy implicit $40 cardinal combined connected Telegram since 2021.

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As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M successful full gross crossed its merchandise lines. The GoPlus App is the superior gross driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol astatine $1.7M.
GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 cardinal monthly calls year-to-date successful 2025 , with a highest of astir 1 cardinal calls successful February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an further 350 cardinal per month.
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