Pavel Durov | Crypto

The privacy-preserving decentralized AI platform is built on top of The Open Network, and users earn TON for renting out computing power. The Cocoon decentralized AI network, a privacy-preserving distributed computing platform built on The Open Network (TON) — an independent layer-1 blockchain associated with the Telegram messaging application — went live on Sunday. Cocoon allows owners of graphics processing units (GPUs) to rent their computing power to the network, processing user queries and requests in return for Toncoin (TON), the native token of the TON blockchain.  The decentralized AI network has processed its first requests from users, and GPU owners are already profiting from renting out their hardware, according to Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov. He said: Read more

The new project, dubbed Cocoon, aims to give users access to AI tools without surrendering their data to centralized providers. Pavel Durov, co-founder of the messaging application Telegram, has disclosed a new decentralized AI network to be built atop The Open Network (TON), an independent layer-1 blockchain associated with Telegram. Durov took the stage at the Blockchain Life 2025 forum in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to announce the Confidential Compute Open Network, or Cocoon, created to give users access to AI-driven features without sacrificing data privacy to centralized AI providers. According to Durov, users can make the processing power from their graphics processing units (GPUs) available to the network, in exchange for receiving Toncoin (TON), the native token of TON. Durov also touched on why decentralized AI is needed for human freedom: Read more

Durov said French law enforcement officials are still "struggling" to find evidence of wrongdoing even one year on from his arrest in 2024. Pavel Durov, founder of the messaging application Telegram, provided an update regarding his ongoing case in France, and said the criminal investigation against him is “struggling” to find any evidence of wrongdoing. Durov said his arrest by French authorities in August 2024 was “unprecedented” and added that holding a tech executive accountable for the actions of independent users was “legally and logically absurd,” in a Telegram post on Sunday. Durov added: “One year after this strange arrest, I still have to return to France every 14 days, with no appeal date in sight,” he continued, while also warning that the French government has done irreparable damage to France’s image as a free country. Read more

The Telegram founder will once again be allowed to travel to Dubai for a short period before returning to France, where his case is ongoing. Telegram founder Pavel Durov gained court approval to leave France for up to 14 days to travel to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where the company is headquartered. Durov will be allowed to leave France on July 10 after having a travel request denied by French officials in May, according to French news outlet Le Monde. The executive had requested permission to travel to Oslo, Norway, to deliver a keynote address at the Human Rights Foundation’s Oslo Freedom Forum, which was presented remotely after French officials rejected his travel application. Read more

According to the Telegram founder, France’s political leaders continue to make poor choices regarding censorship. Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that France may experience a societal collapse if it continues down its current political trajectory of censorship and regulatory policies during an interview on Wednesday. “Emmanuel Macron isn’t making the right choices. I’m very disappointed. France is getting weaker and weaker,” Durov said in a translated excerpt from an interview with French outlet Le Point. Durov added: When we delay necessary reforms too long, we end up experiencing a collapse,” the Telegram founder continued, warning that France was losing talent to other jurisdictions like Dubai. Read more

Durov did not name the EU country that asked him to censor "conservative voices" on the platform but hinted at it with a baguette emoji. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said he rejected pressure from a European Union (EU) country to censor political content on the social media platform ahead of the May 18 presidential elections in Romania. According to Durov, a Western European government, which he hinted at with a baguette emoji, approached the platform and requested it censor conservative voices, which he flatly denied. Durov wrote in a May 18 Telegram post: The Telegram founder is an ardent defender of free speech, who is highly regarded in the crypto community for his stances on freedom of expression, autonomy, privacy, and individual liberty. Read more

Telegram’s founder Pavel Durov has taken direct aim at Meta-owned WhatsApp, calling it a “cheap copycat” and accusing it of launching smear campaigns against his platform. His May 15 comments accompanied the announcement of a new $50,000 contest to showcase Telegram’s features. The competition will run until May 26. ‘Watered-down’ Durov said the contest will showcase […] The post Pavel Durov calls WhatsApp ‘cheap copycat,’ launches $50K contest to showcase Telegram’s superiority appeared first on CryptoSlate.