This Week on Crypto Twitter: Telegram Founder’s Reemergence Sparks Split

Illustration by Mitchell Preffer for Decrypt

While Crypto Twitter can often be brutally black-and-white when it comes to narrativizing major events, this week saw the industry splinter into shades of gray after Telegram CEO Pavel Durov broke a days-long silence following his release from police custody in France. 

In a lengthy letter to the public on this week—posted first to Telegram and then to Twitter—Durov weighed in for the first time on his arrest and indictment last week by French authorities for allegedly facilitating illegal activity on Telegram by not cooperating with government requests for increased moderation. 

The letter proved to be a decidedly mixed bag for crypto users, who had enthusiastically embraced Durov as a martyr and defiant privacy advocate immediately following his arrest. Makers of popular Telegram games had also rallied behind him.

On one end, the Telegram founder pushed back against the French government’s allegations and forcefully critiqued how officials came for him personally as a dangerous precedent that could derail technological innovation. 

These statements appear to have enthralled Durov’s loyal fanbase, particularly users of The Open Network, Telegram’s blockchain of choice. 

But other elements of Durov’s letter—and subsequent perceived shifts in tone made by Telegram—left some in crypto concerned. The entrepreneur conceded that his messaging app’s system for monitoring content was not perfect, and vowed to “significantly improve” moderation standards and practices to clamp down on criminal activity.

Shortly thereafter, Crypto Twitter ignited with the revelation that a line in Telegram’s FAQ about refusing to monitor private chats had been quietly removed.

Given the timing of the change, some in crypto took the developments as grim proof that Telegram had “fallen” to government pressure. 

But Telegram itself soon pushed back on that narrative, insisting that the app’s code and policy regarding private chats had not changed whatsoever—just the phrasing of language on their website, for clarity. “Anyone can check our code and see there were no changes,” Telegram asserted.

For some degens, though, such distinctions didn’t matter. Rhetorically, at least, the knee had been bent.