TON Price Surges More Than 20% After French Authorities Return Pavel Durov's Passport

The price of TON has surged more than 20% over the last 24 hours to now trade above $3.45 and have a $8.14 billion market capitalization

French authorities have returned Pavel Durov’s passport, restoring the Telegram founder’s ability to travel freely and marking the end of a situation that had drawn concerns from privacy and free speech advocates.

Durov, who co-founded Telegram, a messaging platform with nearly a billion users, has long been an outspoken advocate for privacy and secure communication. He was previously banned from entering Russia for an 18-month period, and more recently, faced difficulties traveling in Europe.

Earlier this year, French authorities seized Durov’s passport as part of an investigation into a complaint filed by a third party. The nature of the complaint and the third party involved were not disclosed.

However, Durov said at the time that the complaint was “clearly an attempt to exert pressure” on Telegram to introduce changes to its platform, and that he had no intention of complying with any demands for modifications to the messaging app.

“Despite the fact that no court has yet ruled on the third party's complaint, and despite the obvious signs of pressure on the French administration, we remain confident that justice will prevail,” a spokesperson for the TON Foundation said at the time.

The TON Foundation, which supports the Telegram Open Network (TON), celebrated the moment on social media. “As part of the decentralized TON community, we have stood in solidarity with Pavel, supporting his unwavering dedication to defending the right to free speech and privacy online.”