- Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 24 and released on August 28
- Pavel Durov and his brother, Nikolai Durov, created The Open Network blockchain, which has its native cryptocurrency as the Toncoin
- Durov was arrested and charged with complicity in helping to acquire, transport, possess, offer or sell narcotic substances
Following the arrest of the Chief Executive Officer and founder of messaging app Telegram, Pavel Durov, in France on August 24, and his subsequent release on August 28, reasons for his arrest and charges have emerged.
Durov’s arrest came as a surprise to watchers in both the tech and crypto space, though there was no clear general impact on the market.
However, some experts believe that the massive sellout and market bleeding that happened in the crypto market on August 27 and early on 28 could be described as a reaction to the news.
At the time of writing. the global crypto market cap was $2.08 trillion, a 4.51% decrease over the last day and the total crypto market volume over the last 24 hours is $99.34 billion.
Impact of Pavel Durov’s arrest on crypto and price of Toncoin
The market value of Toncoin (TON) has tanked by over 20% since Durov’s arrest. TON is linked to Telegram. Here’s how: TON stands for The Open Network and it is the native cryptocurrency token of The Open Network blockchain, first created by Pavel and his brother Nikolai Durov. It was first called the Telegram Open Network.
TON’s price started trading poorly a day after Durov’s arrest. Credit: Coinmarketcap.
Since Durov’s arrest on Saturday, Toncoin’s price has crashed from $6.80 to $5.56 at the time of writing. In reaction to the arrest, TON Society, the blockchain’s official community, denounced Durov's detention on Tuesday, describing it as a “direct assault on a basic human right—the freedom of expression of everyone.”
French authorities said the Russian billionaire’s arrest is related to an investigation into Telegram’s poor content moderation. Some tech and market insiders have described the arrest as an assault on free speech and the crypto space in Europe.
Elon Musk, owner of X, posted “#FreePavel” on the platform in support of Durov. The NSA whistleblower and privacy activist Edward Snowden also showed support for Durov, suggesting that French President Emmanuel Macron made a political choice in ordering Durov's arrest. Macron has denied the allegations.
Why Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested and charged in France
Despite the speculation, there are major reasons for Durov’s arrest. Below are five of the reasons.
- According to French prosecutors, Durov was arrested and charged with complicity in helping to acquire, transport, possess, offer or sell narcotic substances, support organized crime, possess pornographic images of minors, and distribute, offer or make available pornographic images of minors.
- Complicity in offering, selling or making available, without legitimate reason, equipment, tools, programs or data designed for or adapted to get access to and to damage the operation of an automated data processing system.
- Laundering of the proceeds derived from organized groups’ offences and crimes.
- Providing crypto services aiming to ensure confidentiality without certified declaration; providing a crypto tool not solely ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration; importing a crypto tool ensuring authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.
- Engaging in money laundering as well as in criminal association with a view to committing a crime or an offense punishable by 5 or more years of imprisonment.
Nigeria moves to legitimise crypto, issues first operating license to indigenous exchange
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that in a significant move that could begin a new era for Nigeria’s growing crypto space, Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted a provisional operating license to Quidax, an indigenous crypto exchange. The license is believed to be the first license the SEC has ever issued to an indigenous crypto exchange.
In a release quoted by Cointelegraph, the SEC granted Quidax the legal rights to operate as a registered crypto exchange in the country. Experts believe this is a significant step to legitimising the trading of crypto and other digital assets in the West African country.
According to Quidax, the SEC's approval has given the Nigerian cryptocurrency community a "shot of adrenaline" that will spur on more development and innovation.
