The Telegram CEO reveals how his 2013 bitcoin investment at $700 allowed him to “stay afloat” without relying on the app’s revenues.
Telegram’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Pavel Durov, recently disclosed that he invested in bitcoin during its early stages, later using the profits to cover his personal expenses.
In an interview on Lex Fridman’s podcast on September 30, the Russian tech entrepreneur stated:
“I was a big believer in Bitcoin since more or less the start of it. I got to buy my first few thousand bitcoins in 2013, and I didn’t care much.”
Durov noted that he made the purchase at what he calls the “local maximum” of the time, when the price hovered around $700 per bitcoin. “I just threw a couple of million there.” he said.
When bitcoin’s price later crashed below $200 during the following bear market, some mocked him for the decision. His response was:
“I’m not going to sell it. I believe in this thing. I think this is the way money should work. Nobody can confiscate your bitcoins from you. Nobody can censor you for political reasons.”
The entrepreneur explained that his bitcoin investment allowed him to finance his lifestyle. “Some people think if I’m able to rent nice locations or fly private, it’s because I somehow extract money from Telegram,” he said.
“Like I said, Telegram is a money-losing operation for me personally. Bitcoin is something that allowed me to stay afloat,” he added.
Looking ahead, Durov declared:
“It will come to a point when Bitcoin is worth $1 million due to governments printing money like no tomorrow. Nobody’s printing bitcoin. It has predictable inflation and will stop being made at a certain point. Bitcoin is here to stay. All the fiat currencies remain to be seen.”
