Pavel Durov, the founder of the Telegram messenger, gave an interview to Lex Friedman, where, in particular, he talked about his faith and investment in the first cryptocurrency. According to him, he bought the first “several thousand bitcoins” back in 2013 at a price of around $700.

Durov said that the following year, after the bitcoin price dropped to $200-$300, many people sympathized with him for the investment. However, he replied that he was not going to sell because he believes in cryptocurrency as a reliable medium of exchange that cannot be confiscated or censored.

In addition, the Telegram founder said that the messenger is not a source of profit for him personally. According to him, it is the investment in the first cryptocurrency that allows him to rent housing and fly private aviation.

“Some people think that if I can rent good locations or fly privately, it’s because I’m somehow pulling money out of Telegram. Like I said, Telegram is a loss-making operation for me personally. Bitcoin allows me to stay afloat,” Durov explained.

In his opinion, the first cryptocurrency has every chance to grow to $1 million. He argued that governments continue to print fiat currencies while the issuance of the asset is limited:

“Just look at the trends. Governments keep printing money non-stop. Bitcoin is not printing. It has predictable inflation that will stop at a certain point. It’s going to stay. And about all fiat currencies — we’ll see,” believes the founder of Telegram.

Recall, after his arrest in August 2024 Durov is under judicial supervision in France. He is obliged to report to the authorities every two weeks, and the date of consideration of the appeal has not yet been determined.