The arrest of Pavel Durov caused a strong reaction in the community. In particular, the situation was commented on by the creator of Etherium Vitalik Buterin. He said that such actions of the authorities do not look the best, in addition, all this makes us think about freedom of speech in France and Europe as a whole.

The incident also led to a significant drop in the value of the cryptocurrency Toncoin – a project on the blockchain TON, including integrated into the messenger. At the end of the week, the price of the coin fell by 21 per cent, which was the largest decline among the top digital assets in terms of market capitalisation.

Change in the value of the cryptocurrency Toncoin TON over the past week

The wave of discontent turned out to be so massive that French President Emmanuel Macron had to respond to it. He stated that Durov’s detention was not a politically motivated decision. At the same time, the French government allegedly fully complies with all norms related to freedom of speech.

Why Durov was arrested

On 26 August, the French President’s official Twitter account posted the following message.

I saw false information about France after the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is deeply committed to freedom of speech and expression, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit. And it will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within the law – both on social media and in real life – to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights.

French President Emmanuel Macron

Accusations against the French government have indeed quickly gone to extremes since Durov’s arrest. Here, for example, is a public comment from prominent crypto investor and former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan.

France has slid towards fascism – again. Create things the way they do in El Salvador, a country with a low crime rate. Writing code is not a crime.


That is, the expert believes that Durov can not be considered guilty of the actions of users of the Telegram platform. A similar statement was made the day before by Telegram representatives, who called attempts to hold Pavel responsible for abusing the capabilities of the messenger platform absurd.

However, many considered Balaji's comment undeservedly harsh. In addition, some readers asked him if he was in the business of "making things out of El Salvador" as he recommends. However, there was no response from Srinivasan.


Srinivasan hinted that Macron had previously stated the need to attract new talented developers to the country. Recent government actions, however, could skew prospects in the pursuit of innovation.

As an example, crypto investor El Salvador is a country where Bitcoin has been recognised as official payment at the national level for the first time in the world. As of September 2021, this nation has essentially equated BTC to the potential of the U.S. dollar serving as the official currency.

“Free Pavel Durov.”

Former US National Security Agency (NSA) employee Edward Snowden also placed responsibility for Durov’s arrest squarely on the French President. Here is his comment.

I am surprised and deeply saddened that Macron has stooped to the level of taking hostages as a means of gaining access to private communications.

It seems the aggressive reaction against Macron’s possible involvement in the Durov case has hit a nerve with the politician. According to Decrypt’s sources, he has spent years building an image as a pro-business and pro-technology leader, as well as seeking to promote France on the world stage as a “startup nation.”

Macron insists that Durov’s arrest was the result of an independent ongoing judicial investigation that he had nothing to do with. Shortly afterwards, the Paris prosecutor’s office released a statement saying Durov had been under investigation since 8 July.

The prosecutor’s office also announced twelve charges against Durov. Among them are several charges of complicity in illegal acts, including distributing child pornography, selling drugs and organised fraud.

Telegram creator Pavel Durov

Three charges also specifically target Durov. These involve allowing Telegram users access to cryptography and privacy tools without obtaining proper authorisation from the government. Prosecutors have also said that given the nature of the potential charges, they have the right to keep Pavel in custody until at least Wednesday 28 August.

Will the French government succeed in proving Durov’s guilt? The billionaire clearly has an army of lawyers. Plus, such an action could play against the entire European Union. In the circles of innovators, the arrest of the entrepreneur could be taken as a direct attack on freedom of speech – on a larger scale.

Meanwhile, users of the decentralised platform Polymarket are betting in crypto on whether Pavel Durov will be released before the end of August. This prospect is now estimated at 35 per cent, with the volume of bets approaching the $500,000 level.

Betting on Pavel Durov’s possible release before the end of August 2024


Preliminary details of the case hint that Pavel Durov's situation has turned out to be very serious. As analysts have previously noted, such charges could lead to a prison term of up to twenty years, which is unlikely to suit the billionaire. What will happen next will become clear this week.