The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov has implications for the crypto venture capital industry, where some of the biggest players have invested in a digital token closely tied to the messaging app.
Pantera Capital Management, Animoca Brands and Mirana Ventures are among more than a dozen firms that have invested in Toncoin, whose blockchain is used on Telegram to process things like instant payments. Pantera, one of the largest crypto VC funds, invested more than $100 million in Toncoin earlier this year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
The funds were attracted by an idea that has bedeviled crypto: that Telegram would transform into a digital asset “super app” akin to China’s WeChat, with its 900 million users relying on Toncoin for everything from payments to playing blockchain-based games. The token surged fourfold from February to early July, and assets locked up on its blockchain, TON, briefly surpassed $1 billion.
