“The time when the inefficiencies of legacy platforms justified centralization should be long gone.”
Better known as the founder and CEO of the popular social messaging platform Telegram, Pavel Durov is also credited with creating the Russian social networking site VKontakte. He served as the CEO of VKontakte until 2014, when he was dismissed for refusing to censor a key opposition leader’s anti-corruption group on the site.
This shouldn’t have come as a surprise considering Durov’s interest in safeguarding citizen rights, and he was eventually responsible for introducing the world to Telegram, an encrypted messaging service platform competing with behemoths like WhatsApp in many markets across the globe.
Durov spent his childhood in Turin, Italy and graduated from the philology department of Saint Petersburg State University, ostensibly inspired by his father, who is a doctor of philological sciences. However, Durov went on to create both VKontakte and Telegram in a span of seven years and has been dedicated to expanding Telegram into new territories ever since. In fact, Durov stated the company’s intention to launch Telegram Open Network as a blockchain-based decentralized computer network technology in 2018 before withdrawing the project in 2020 due to litigation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
He remains a key figure in promoting secure ways for humans to communicate with one another on the internet and continues to voice his criticism of other platforms that pose both data and security risks for the billions of users that utilize them. Durov remains a prominent critic of centralization and is firmly set on building decentralized tools, including noncustodial wallets and decentralized exchanges, to enable millions of people to securely store and transact with cryptocurrencies.
Right at the beginning of 2022, Durov made a big statement when he reiterated his resolve to defend the private data of Ukrainians from the Russian government, despite the potential damage it could cause Telegram and himself, too. Reacting to the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine, Durov made an effort to preserve free speech through his Telegram platform while prioritizing data privacy concerns over the company’s apparent lack of a monetization strategy.
Durov is a big proponent of decentralization and, as a result, has been working to integrate blockchain technology into his Telegram platform in recent years. Calling for a renewed prioritization of decentralization, Durov remained firm on his thought process that blockchain projects must shy away from third-party organizations and, instead, cede control to their users. He focused on unleashing the full potential of TON’s — now The Open Network — technology and giving back power to the people.
Durov’s unique approach to building behemoths like Telegram and VKontakte has always centered around customer focus. He propelled Telegram into the top 5 most downloaded apps in the world without spending billions on marketing budgets and while going against more established peers like WhatsApp.
He remains committed to delivering what the people want, which explains his pivot toward setting up infrastructure that could help drive crypto adoption safely. Despite a previous failed attempt in 2020, Durov can be expected to double down on his efforts to establish TON as a blockchain network that will power an NFT marketplace for usernames, emojis and other digital assets.
As Durov pursues his vision of realizing a truly decentralized future using blockchain technology, it could have far-reaching positive effects on the crypto ecosystem, especially considering his track record of defending user rights. While it remains to be seen how much success Durov will taste in 2023, his formal entry into the crypto space will undoubtedly spur even greater innovation and competition, which will help evolve the crypto industry toward greater maturity.
