TRON founder suggests launching DAO to raise funds for Pavel Durov’s defense

What’s new? Justin Sun, the founder of the TRON blockchain and the head of the HTX and Poloniex crypto exchanges, has launched an initiative in defense of Telegram messenger creator Pavel Durov, who was previously detained by French authorities. Sun proposed to launch a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) called #FreePavel DAO, which will aim to facilitate the legal release of the entrepreneur.

Source: X.com

What else is known? Sun stated the need to demonstrate the unity of the cryptocurrency industry on the issue of Durov’s detention and promised to personally donate $1 million to the DAO treasury if the project receives broad community support and is established based on the principles of decentralization.

Sun called on X, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and entrepreneur, investor, and blogger Mario Nawfal to participate in the initiative, tagging them in his post.

On August 24, Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport upon arrival from Azerbaijan. According to TF1 TV channel, the reason was his refusal to cooperate with law enforcement and the lack of moderation on Telegram, which allowed the platform to be used by drug dealers, terrorists, pedophiles, and scammers. Durov, who was granted French citizenship in 2021, could face up to 20 years in prison.

For now, Durov is being held at the airport’s migration jail. There he can be held for four days, for which a decision on the case should be made.

A media campaign was launched on social networks under the hashtags #FreePavel and #FREEDUROV in defense of the entrepreneur, with participants emphasizing the need to resist censorship and Durov’s innocence of third parties using Telegram. Many in the community say that Durov’s detention is absurd and comparable to if knife makers were accused of using their products to commit murders.

American politician Robert Francis Kennedy Jr, known for his positive attitude towards cryptocurrencies, spoke out in defense of Durov as the founder of the encrypted and censorship-free Telegram platform and added that the need to protect free speech has never been more urgent before.

Source: X.com

Activists held pickets in support of Durov outside French embassies in several countries, including Russia, Armenia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, and Vietnam.

Ethereum blockchain co-founder Vitalik Buterin also made a statement. He noted that according to currently available information, Durov has been accused of lack of moderation and unwillingness to hand over user data to authorities, raising concerns for the future of software and freedom of communication in Europe.

Source: X.com

This is how Buterin commented on a post by Balaji Srinivasan, former chief technology officer of the crypto exchange Coinbase, where he said that Durov is being prosecuted for ensuring freedom of speech on the Internet.

Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini also criticized Durov’s detention, while admitting that the next one could be X CEO:

“Censorship already reigns in Europe. Who will be the next to be gagged? The great (and inconvenient) Elon Musk?”

Following Durov’s arrest, the exchange rate of the TON blockchain’s native token, which is tightly integrated with Telegram, collapsed from $6,85 to $5,31. So far, the asset has partially recovered to $5,66. Toncoin ranks 11th in the overall ranking of cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, with a value of $14,3 billion.

Earlier this month, Durov said that “2024 will go down in history as a year when hundreds of millions of people became familiar with blockchain technology.” Telegram is implementing various initiatives aimed at the mass adoption of blockchain technology. For example, this month, the messenger launched a Web 3.0 browser and a marketplace of mini-applications based on TON.

The messenger has already launched many blockchain games and applications, the most popular and well-known among them are Notcoin and Hamster Combat.

Also, last week, the TON Foundation announced the Telegram applications that won the hackathon, including Cat Gold Miner, Chick Coop, Tea Farm, CryptoMagnate and Hamsterdam, Boosteam (earning on Telegram Premium subscription), and Overleap (earning on receiving paid newsletters), Tontch platform for streamers, DeFi protocols SettleTON, TON Hedge, Parraton and Curdle Protocol, InOne, Unpacks and Shopigram marketplaces, FaktON Explorer, and others.

The number of Telegram users per month has already approached the 1 billion mark. The launch of a large number of blockchain applications within the messenger can significantly accelerate the mass adoption of the technology and contribute to the growth of the TON rate.

Against the backdrop of Durov’s arrest, the TON blockchain has decided to support some representatives of the crypto community. Thus, the Memeland platform team converted $1 million from its treasury into TON tokens and stated that it intends to hold them until Durov’s release.

“Telegram is the app that our team, most Web 3.0 people, and millions of people use every day. It may have some bad actors, but which platform doesn’t?” Memeland stated.

Source: X.com

Andrei Grachev, the head of the leading cryptocurrency market maker DWF Labs, made a similar statement. He said he bought $500 000 worth of TON tokens on the open market and intends to hold the assets until Durov is released.

“Not financial advice, I only want to support uncensored and decentralized technology. We are strong together,” the entrepreneur stated.

Source: X.com

The Telegram team also commented on Durov’s detention, saying that the platform complies with EU laws and the moderation system meets industry standards, and is constantly being improved.

“Telegram’s CEO Pavel Durov has nothing to hide and travels frequently in Europe. It is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform. Almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information” the developers concluded.

Source: X.com