Telegram

Telegram shut down two major Chinese-language crypto scam markets, but over 30 smaller ones quickly appeared to take their place. One of them, Tudou Guarantee, is now handling millions in daily crypto transactions and openly offers illegal services without Telegram taking further action.

Telegram founder Pavel Durov warned that France is weakening due to growing censorship and tighter control over online speech. He said these actions are driving talent abroad and could lead to a major crisis if reforms are delayed.

OpenAI faced a five-hour global outage affecting ChatGPT, Sora, and its APIs, disrupting user access to key tools. As services return to normal, the incident prompts a pressing question: are we becoming too reliant on AI systems we do not fully control?

Telegram founder Pavel Durov was arrested in France in August 2024 over claims the app enabled criminal activity and ignored legal requests. He denies the charges, calling them political and says French authorities misunderstood or misrepresented Telegram’s cooperation.

Vietnamese police have shut down a massive crypto scam called Matrix Chain, which tricked over 185,000 people and stole nearly \$386 million. The ringleaders used fake tokens, social media, and a pyramid scheme to collect money, leading to arrests and a nationwide ban on Telegram.

Pavel Durov announced a one-year Grok AI partnership with Telegram, sending Toncoin surging but Elon Musk publicly refuted the claim, stating no such deal had been made. Now, the crypto community is left wondering: was it premature or pure fiction?

A French court blocked Telegram founder Pavel Durov from travelling to Norway to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum due to ongoing legal charges in France. He will now deliver his speech online, while Telegram also faces a possible ban in Vietnam over crime concerns.

Vladimir Smerkis, the co-founder of the Telegram-based crypto project Blum, has been arrested in a sweeping crypto fraud investigation—casting a dark shadow over his past ventures and shaking the confidence of the Web3 community.

Telegram's founder said a Western European government asked him to block Romanian conservative channels before the election, but he refused. France denied being involved, though Durov later claimed its intelligence chief made the request.

Former Binance executive Vladimir Smerkis was arrested in Russia over alleged $15 million fraud linked to past projects, not the Blum crypto app. Blum says he’s no longer involved, but users now worry the promised airdrop may not happen.