When the messaging app’s founder, Pavel Durov, was arrested, he received a flood of support from a multitrillion-dollar industry that relies on it.
Shortly after Pavel Durov, the founder of the messaging app Telegram, was arrested in France on Saturday, the chief executive of the cryptocurrency company Tether called the situation “very concerning.” Crypto enthusiasts pledged to support Mr. Durov, posting the hashtag #FreeDurov. Others investors declared that the arrest was an assault on free speech.
“Can’t even imagine a day without Telegram,” one crypto user wrote.
The wave of support for Mr. Durov was a reflection of the multitrillion-dollar crypto industry’s heavy reliance on Telegram. For years, it has been the chat app of choice for crypto entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, including prominent figures like Justin Sun, the founder of the crypto platform Tron.
In the industry, Telegram has become a popular forum for big-money deal-making, marketing outreach to traders and even crisis management by failed companies like Three Arrows Capital and FTX. A digital coin linked to Telegram is one of the 15 most valuable cryptocurrencies in circulation, according to CoinMarketCap, the crypto data tracker.
“I know a lot of founders and a lot of V.C.s in the crypto space that do most of their work in Telegram,” said Brad Nickel, who founded the crypto platform Kilroy.
Mr. Durov was detained by the French authorities after he landed at Le Bourget Airport near Paris. His arrest was part of a sweeping investigation into criminal activity on Telegram, including money laundering and the distribution of child pornography. He has not been formally charged and remained in custody on Tuesday. Telegram has said that it abides by European laws and that Mr. Durov has “nothing to hide.”
The app has 900 million users globally and exercises limited oversight over the content shared on its platform. It is popular in countries like Ukraine and India, where people use it to text each other and get independent news. It has also become a crucial tool for people looking for safe ways to communicate in nations run by authoritarian governments.