Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announces he is using Bitcoin to bypass Russian sanctions

On April 16, 2018, Russian security forces implemented a block on Telegram after it refused a court order to grant state security services access to its users’ encrypted messages. The block was initiated by Alexander Zharov, head of the Russian watchdog organization Roskomnadzor. He claimed that Telegram had potentially been used by terrorists to coordinate attacks on Russia and its neighbors.
 

Despite the block, Durov refused to give up. He took to his account on VK, a Russian social network, to announce that he was offering Bitcoin grants to both companies and individuals running proxy servers and virtual private networks (VPNs). He stated that he was “happy to donate millions of dollars” from his personal stash to support this cause.
 

These proxy servers and VPNs acted as connective tissue between clients and other servers, offering anonymity to their users and allowing them to bypass blocks on certain IP addresses. Durov’s move was a significant step in the fight for digital freedom and privacy.

He announced all of this on the 18th April, 2018.