Toncoin (TON) Drops 17% as Telegram Co-Founder Gets Arrested in France

Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov was arrested on August 24th around 18:00 GMT while he was traveling from Azerbaijan. According to local sources familiar with the matter, the French police arrested the Telegram co-founder to investigate the social media app’s supposed lack of moderation.

Toncoin, the native coin for The Open Network (TON), saw a rapid drop of over 17% to a trading price of $5.521. This sudden price dump comes amid Telegram’s strong ties with the layer-1 blockchain network.

Telegram CEO Arrested

The French law authorities argue that Telegram’s co-founder failed to cooperate with law enforcement and exercise appropriate oversight over the social app. The police added that Telegram’s features allow for disposable number usage and various crypto products, making the social media platform a haven for drug trafficking, pedo criminal offenses, and fraud.

Since Durov lives in Dubai, it is unlikely that he will be arrested there. However, entering France puts him within the local authorities’ scope and means he is now being investigated. The local report explained that a search warrant for the tech mogul was valid only if he was in the country.

“He made a blunder this evening. We don’t know why… Was this flight just a stopover? In any case, he’s in custody!” the report added.

Durov often frequents other regions globally besides most European countries due to their stringent stance on Telegram.

Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Telegram has a global user base of over 950 million active users. Despite the social platform’s significant growth, various government authorities have questioned the app’s support for free speech. These regulatory bodies likely believe bad actors capitalize on this feature to execute criminal operations.

Telegram’s Ties With TON

The Open Network was created as a blockchain for the Telegram ecosystem. However, things went sideways, and the blockchain project was abandoned. Fast forward to the present, the L1 blockchain survived, and Telegram became a hub for numerous crypto projects.

Top projects like Notcoin, TapSwap, and DOGS owe their origin to the collaboration between Telegram and the L1 network.