Toncoin drops 18%, Notcoin tumbles following arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov

Key Takeaways

• Pavel Durov’s arrest in France led to a 18% drop in Toncoin’s value.
• French authorities link Durov with crimes facilitated through Telegram’s lack of moderation.

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The price of Toncoin (TON) fell as much as 18% to below $5.53 on Sunday following news that Pavel Durov, the co-founder and CEO of Telegram, was arrested at Le Bourget Airport in France, according to data from CoinGecko. Likewise, Notcoin’s (NOT) value crashed by 21% as concerns about Durov’s legal troubles grew.

On August 24, Durov was detained by French police at Bourget Airport after arriving on his private jet from Azerbaijan, as reported by BBC. His arrest was executed under a warrant issued by France’s OFIM, which deals with preventing violence against minors.

The enforcement action is part of a police investigation concerning Telegram’s alleged lack of moderation, which has purportedly allowed criminal activities to proliferate on the platform, the report highlighted. French officials claim that Telegram’s insufficient oversight has enabled illicit activities, raising concerns about the platform’s role in facilitating such behavior, especially given its massive user base of nearly one billion people.

After the news broke, Toncoin’s value suffered a steep decline. TON’s market cap plummeted, falling from $17.1 billion to around $14 billion within hours, CoinGecko’s data shows.

Toncoin is a crypto asset closely tied to the Telegram messaging app and its founder Pavel Durov. TON is the native coin of The Open Network, which was originally developed by Telegram but later launched independently. TON integrates with Telegram, allowing users to use Toncoin for payments, storing value, and accessing decentralized apps within the Telegram app.

Notcoin, operating on the TON blockchain, is also known for its integration of crypto features into the Telegram app. The crypto-based idle game has skyrocketed in popularity on Telegram this year, amassing over 35 million users in just five months.

Notcoin’s price fell sharply following Durov’s arrest. NOT is currently trading at around $0.009, down 20% in the last 24 hours while TON is trading at around $5.6. Toncoin’s value is about 31% away from its all-time high of $8.2 established in mid-June.

The broader crypto market remains relatively stable, showing a slight increase of 1.1% within a day. There has been little change in the price of Bitcoin over the past 24 hours, trading at nearly $64,000 at press time.

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