Last night, social media was rocked by some pretty big news, as some may already know — the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov. It all started when Durov landed on a private jet in France to refuel, where he was reported wanted minutes before landing. In total, the charges have the billionaire facing up to 20 years in French prison, considering that Durov is also a citizen of that country.
The situation has received an enormous amount of commentary from every respectable figure in the tech space, and crypto in particular. The most interesting of them seems to be the opinion of Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum.
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Thus, Buterin expressed concern about what this arrest could mean for the future of software and freedom of communication in Europe. Buterin suggested that this case highlights a shift in the tech landscape, where platforms are being scrutinized not only for their centralization, but also for their lack of compliance with authorities.
I've criticized Telegram before for not being serious with encryption.But (given the info available so far: the charge seems to be just being "unmoderated" and not giving up people's data), this looks very bad and worrying for the future of software and comms freedom in Europe.
— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) August 25, 2024
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Buterin has previously spoken about other issues with technology, such as political attacks on encrypted messaging, centralized identity systems and the risks of surveillance and centralized AI. He said decentralized finance and technology are key to addressing these issues.
Toncoin (TON) price outlook
Meanwhile, the price of Toncoin (TON), the native token of the Telegram-related TON blockchain, has fallen by nearly 20% against the backdrop of the news.
TON to USD by CoinMarketCap
As of now, the price per coin stands at $5.68. The fall was also witnessed within the total locked value of the TON blockchain, as it literally halved from $790 million to $297 million just overnight.
