Telegram CEO thanks lifestyle to early Bitcoin investment

A remarkable admission from Pavel Durov, CEO of Telegram, one of the world’s largest social media platforms. Since Telegram is still not profitable at the moment (although investors estimate it to be worth several billion), Pavel owes his luxurious lifestyle to a very early investment in Bitcoin. He is also convinced that the largest digital currency will climb much higher in the future.

Telegram also has it’s own cryptocurrency called Toncoin.

2013

Pavel Durov, CEO and founder of Telegram, covered a wide range of topics in his four-hour interview with Lex Fridman (both men are Russian natives but speak perfect English), including elections in several European countries and the future of Telegram. We were most intrigued by Pavel’s story about his early investment in Bitcoin.

During his appearance on Lex’s podcast, Pavel explained his early adoption of cryptocurrencies.

“I was a big believer in Bitcoin since more or less the start of it,” he said, recounting his purchase of several thousand Bitcoins back in 2013. Pavel said he invested “a couple of million” dollars at what he termed a “local maximum” of around $700 per coin. When the price of Bitcoin collapsed below $200 in the subsequent bear market, he dismissed any criticism, stating, “I don’t care,” and affirmed his decision to hold the asset. “I’m not going to sell it. I believe in this thing.”

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Now, in 2025, his investment is worth hundreds of millions of dollars and allows him to fund his lavish lifestyle (he owns a private jet and several homes); Telegram is doing well, but until he IPOs and lists the company on the stock exchange, he claims it won’t generate any profit.