As the CEO of Telegram, the billion-user messaging app, Pavel Durov may be what many observers believe is the most critical figure in the true mass adoption of cryptocurrencies.
This feature is part of CoinDesk The Most Influential List of 2025.
By embedding the TON blockchain’s wallet into its popular messaging app, Telegram aims to eliminate some of the most tedious elements of interacting with cryptocurrencies, such as remembering seed phrases and registering on exchanges. In short, Durov wants to make Telegram the largest mass-market cryptocurrency on-ramp, offering digital asset services through an interface as simple as sending a message.
In 2025, Telegram attracted the attention of as many potential investors as BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager. Telegram raised $1.7 billion in convertible bonds in an offer that closed at the end of May and attracted interest from investors including BlackRock, Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and hedge fund Citadel.
Durov is known as a staunch advocate for privacy and free speech, which was part of his motivation for creating Telegram in 2014. However, his reputation sometimes outshines him when it comes to law enforcement agencies. In August 2024, French authorities filed preliminary charges against him for drug trafficking, money laundering and fraud through Telegram, confiscated his passport and imposed a travel ban on him. When he got his passport back in March, the TON token jumped 20% on the news.
Some observers believe that while Durov and Telegram in general may remain controversial, by 2025 the app has also shown a determination to combat illegal use of its platform, which would otherwise tarnish it for crime, fraud and more. This year, Telegram partnered with blockchain detective Elliptic to shut down illegal cryptocurrency-centric marketplaces Xinbi and Hawang (formerly Huione). The two marketplaces are believed to have processed a combined value of more than $40 billion in transactions on Telegram since 2021.
