Telegram founder says he holds hundreds of millions of dollars in fiat currency and Bitcoin to ensure ownership and guide projects and companies

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram Messenger, said in an interview that increasing regulation will force hardware devices to innovate around secure communication, "just as we have hardware wallets to store cryptocurrencies." He claimed that the US law enforcement agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), is trying to persuade people associated with Telegram to install backdoors for monitoring purposes. Regarding company ownership, Durov stated that he avoids VC investment to prevent external influence on Telegram's operations. He revealed that he holds "hundreds of millions of dollars" in fiat and bitcoin, which allows him to guide his projects and companies with 100% ownership.

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