Telegram Notes: Mama Durova and Her Inner Circle
January 14, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
We filtered our notes for my new book “The Telegram Labyrinth.” Information about Pavel Durov’s mom was sparse. What we had, however, was interesting. The inner circle boils down to her ex-husbands and her three sons. In Part One of a two-part write up, you can get a snapshot of the individuals who facilitated the technical and business plumbing for VKontakte until its sale to Kremlin-approved buyers and then for the Telegram messaging service. You can find part one of this interesting group on my Telegram Notes online service.
Stephen E Arnold, January 14, 2026
Pavel Durov Outputs His Philosophy That GOATs Do Not Worry.
January 13, 2026
The creator behind the anonymous messaging service Telegram Pavel Durov was charged in 2024 with allegations of drug trafficking, child pornography, organized fraud, and money laundering. Durov is a private individual. He left Russia in 2014 to preserve his freedom of expressive. He provided Le Point with an exclusive interview: “Pavel Durov On His Arrest In France, Macron, Russia, The FBI — And The Fight For Telegram.”
When he was questioned about bad actors using Telegram for nefarious purposes, Durov said that doesn’t make him or his associates who run the platform criminals. He also asserts that the allegations won’t stick, that the French police didn’t correctly follow international procedures, and Telegram how to show them how to proceed.
Durov was questioned if he had any ties with Russia and was close with Putin. He claims that he only met Putin once when he was head of the Russian version of Facebook. He was told that he had to comply with Russian authorities or face the consequences. Durov also denies that he works with Russian authorities and that he only travels to Russia to visit his family.
After sharing his opinion about the current state of technology, Donald Trump, and the world at large. Durov was asked about his competitors. He said that WhatsApp copies everything Telegram does, that Zuckerberg needs more imagination (despite having a large amount of respect for him), and he admires Signal messaging.
He’s had many offers to buy Telegram, including Google which offered him $1 billion. He declines and states:
“It’s not a question of price, Telegram is simply not for sale.”
He continued that he’s still Telegram’s sole shareholder, because he wants to guarantee Telegram’s independence. He doesn’t want to lose control and thusly freedom.
Durov also detailed that he doesn’t have any regrets about Telegram’s development. He keeps a small “core” team of fifty people based in Dubai, because small teams move faster. His brother Nikolai, whom he describes as a genius with two Ph.D.s, is experimenting with AI. Surprisingly he suggests Nikolai no longer works on Telegram with Durov. When queried about what AI will do for the future and jobs, he said.
“We are experiencing unprecedented technological acceleration. For a teenager, adapting is natural. But for experienced professionals, like lawyers or doctors who earn high salaries, the transition will be brutal. Their perceived value in the market could diminish, even if they are excellent. Yes, jobs will disappear. But history shows that others will appear. What matters is the wealth created. Living like a king without having to work like a slave is a form of progress. And as long as we want to create, to bring something to society, there will be a place for everyone.”
Telegram is also money pit. That’s true. The firm’s most recent financial report reveals a loss of more than $220 million US dollars in 2025. But Pavel Durov is a GOAT, or, rather, the greatest of all time in Russia. This is similar to Google’s pronouncements about its role in today’s world. However, Pavel Durov is heading to trial in France for a line up of charges related to some interesting crimes. Is he worried? Nah. GOATs don’t worry.
Whitney Grace, January 13, 2026
Telegram Has a Plumber and a Pinger But Few Know
January 12, 2026
While reviewing research notes, the author of the “Telegram Labyrinth” spotted an interesting connection between Telegram and a firm with links to the Kremlin. A now-deleted Reuters report alleged that Telegram utilizes infrastructure linked to the FSB. The provider is Global Network Management (GNM), owned by Vladimir Vedeneev, a former Russian Space Force member with a Russian security clearance. Vedeneev’s relationship with Pavel Durov dates back to the VKontakte era, and he reportedly provided the networking foundation for Telegram in 2013.
Vedeneev maintains access to Telegram’s servers and possessed signatory authority as both CEO and CFO for Telegram. He also controls Electrotelecom, a firm servicing Russian security agencies. While Durov promises user privacy, Vedeneev’s firms provides a point of access. If exercised, Russia’s government agencies could legally harvest metadata via deep packet inspection. Registered in Antigua and Barbuda, the legal set up of GNM provides a possible work-around for EU and US sanctions on some Telegram-centric activities. GNM operates with opaque points of presence globally, raising questions about its partnerships with Google, Cloudflare, and others.
Stephen E Arnold hypothesizes that Telegram and GNM are tightly coupled, with Durov championing privacy while his partner facilitates state surveillance access. Political backing likely protects this classic “man in the middle” operation possible. If you want to read the complete article in Telegram Notes, click this link.
Kent Maxwell, January 12, 2026
Telegram Glitch Makes Some Russians Unhappy
January 9, 2026
According to the Russian PC News, Telegram experienced an unexpected hiccup: “A Glitch In Telegram Has Been Recorded In Russia: Users Are Complaining About Access Problems.” The problem occurred on the day after Christmas also celebrated as Boxing Day. The Down Detector service, a website that monitors the status of popular services, reported the outage.
Here’s what exactly happened:
“As of 13:25 Moscow time, 387 people reported problems, and the total number of requests over the past 24 hours reached 846. The largest number of complaints came from Moscow, the Oryol region and St. Petersburg — each of these regions accounted for 4% of complaints. The failure also affected users in the Belgorod and Samara regions, where about 2% of complaints were received. Most often, users reported problems with the Telegram mobile application — 38% of requests indicated it. Another 33% of complaints concerned the unavailability of the web version of the service, 20% — incorrect operation of notifications.”
The percentages don’t lie. Something happened with Telegram around large Russians cities. Why did it happen? Was the Kremlin testing something? Did the Kremlin want Telegram out of service so no one could report on nefarious activities? Maybe the Kremlin was testing ways to disrupt Telegram? Or maybe it was just a hiccup in service.
Telegram is a point of interest and has been for more than a decade.
Whitney Grace, January 9, 2025
Telegram Notes: About That Money. Nyet.
January 8, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
I spotted a news item that surprised me. The GOAT (the greatest of all time in Russian technology) encountered a small banking problem. The automatic teller machine would not work. “$500M in Telegram Bonds Frozen in Russia Due to Sanctions – FT” reports or recycles a Financial Times’ news article that allegedly asserted as true:
Around $500 million worth of bonds issued by the Telegram messaging app in Russia have been frozen due to Western sanctions … The freeze highlights Telegram’s continued exposure to Russian capital despite efforts by its billionaire founder Pavel Durov to distance himself from Moscow…. Telegram has issued a series of bond offerings in recent years including a $1.7 billion issuance in May 2025.
Dead money machines? What’s going on? Thanks, Qwen. Good enough.
Why does the GOAT need some cash? The Moscow Times says:
Telegram said revenue in the first half of 2025 rose more than 65% year-on-year to $870 million. The company nevertheless posted a net loss of $222 million, compared with a net profit of $334 million in the same period a year earlier
That doesn’t answer the question, does it? How about this statement:
the loss was driven by a write-down of Telegram’s holdings of the Toncoin cryptocurrency, whose price fell amid a broader downturn in the crypto market in 2025.
Let’s think about this. The TONcoin is not controlled by Pavel Durov. He gave the TON blockchain technology, the TONcoin, and some other bits and pieces to the TON Foundation. Why? After a spat with the US Securities & Exchange Commission, Mr. Durov and his “core” team cooked up the idea of a foundation special purpose vehicle. The cause of the shortfall is simple. The TONcoin upon which some interesting financial “plays” are dependent has lost some of its value. The alleged currency of the future free of the constraints of the cursed US dollar has fallen in value. I think the TONcoin is down about 65 percent since January 5, 2025 if the data from TradingView.com are semi accurate.
This “drop” has troubled the usually halcyon waters of the pond from which the GOAT sips; for example:
- The TON Strategy Company is trying to shake free from two SEC notes about a failure to hold required shareholder votes. A NASDAQ listed outfit run by Manny Stotz has to follow those pesky US rule
- The AlphaTON Capital outfit is trying to figure out how to recover after a bit of fancy dancing related to an alleged tie up with the Anduril outfit. In contrast to AlphaTON, Anduril is doing quite well and said, “Nope, no AlphaTON deal.” In order to look like a great NASDAQ listed company, AlphaTON bid farewell to an interesting person who was the money manager for AlphaTON. Well, so much for Andrei Grachev of DWF MaaS, DWF Labs, and a former board member of the Russian RACIB outfit.
- And obviously the problem of more revenue and a notable $222 million loss.
Mr. Durov may mash the buttons on Russia’s National Settlement Depository (NSD). Those actions may not be subject to the GOAT’s considerable power. What’s the fix? Perhaps Mr. Durov will have to step in and use his own cash to cover the pitfalls on Telegram’s push to become the global financial system? Do goats bleat?
Stephen E Arnold, January 8, 2026
AlphaTON: Tactical Brilliance or Bumbling?
January 6, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
A few days ago, I published on my “Telegram Notes” page a story about some fancy dancing. I thought the insights into strategic thinking and tactical moves might be of interest to those who follow Beyond Search and its information on social media like the estimable LinkedIn.
What caught my attention? Telegram — again. Pavel Durov is headed for a trial in France. He’s facing about a baker’s dozens of charges related to admirable activities like ignoring legitimate requests for information about terrorism, a little bit of kiddie video excitement, and the more mundane allegations related to financial fancy dancing.
This means that although other nation states could send a diplomatic note to the French government, that is unlikely. Thus, some casual conversations may be held, but the wheels of French justice which rolled like tumbrils during the French revolution, are grinding forward. The outcome is difficult to predict. If you have been in France, you know how some expected things become “quelle surprise.” And fast.
Not surprisingly, the activity related to Telegram has been stepped up. Nikolai Durov has apparently come out of his cocoon to allow Pavel, his GOAT and greatest of all time brother, to say:
It happened. Our decentralized confidential compute network, Cocoon, is live. The first AI requests from users are now being processed by Cocoon with 100% confidentiality. GPU owners are already earning TON.
Then a number of interesting things happened.
First, there was joy of Telegram true believers who wondered by the GOAT and his two Ph.D. toting brother were acting like Tim Apple and its non-AI initiative. Telegram was doing AI as a distributed service. Yep, AI mining along with other types of digital mining. Instead of buying scare and expensive hardware, Nikolai ideated a method that would use other people’s GPUs. Do some work for Telegram and get paid in TONcoin. Yep, that the currency completely and totally under the control of the independent TON Foundation. Yep, completely separate.
Second, there was some executive shuffling at the TON Foundation. You know that this outfit is totally, 100 percent separate from Telegram and now has responsibility for the so called TON blockchain technology and the marketing of all things Telegram. Manual (Manny) Stotz, a German financial wizard, left his job at the TON Foundation and became the president of TON Strategy Company. I think he convinced a person with a very low profile named Veronika Kapustina to help manage the new public company. TON Strategy has a tie up with Manny’s own Kingsway Capital and possibly with Manny’s other outfit Koenigsweg Holding. (Did you know that Koenigsweg means Kingsway in German?)
Is it possible for a pop up company to offer open market visitors an deal on hot TONcoins? I don’t know. I do know that Qwen did a good enough job on this illustration, however.
Third, was the beep beep Road Runner acceleration of AlphaTON Capital. Like TON Strategy Company (which rose like a phoenix from the smoking shell of VERB Technology), AlphaTON popped into existence about four months ago. Like TON Strategy, it sported a NASDAQ listing under the ticker symbol ATON. Some Russians might remember the famous or infamous ATON Bank affair. (I wonder if someone was genuinely clueless about the ATON ticker symbol’s metaphorical association or just having a bit of fun on the clueless, tightly leashed “senior managers” of AlphaTON. I thought I heard a hooray when AlphaTON was linked to the very interesting high frequency trading outfit DWF MaaS. No CFO or controller was needed when the company appeared like a pop up store in the Mall of America. A person with an interesting background would be in charge of AlphaTON’s money. For those eager to input one type of currency and trade it for another, the DWF MaaS outfit and its compatriots in Switzerland could do the job.
But what happened to these beep beep Road Runner moves?
Answer: TONcoin value went down. TON Strategy Company share price went down. AlphaTON share price cratered. On January 2, one AlphaTON share was about US$0.77. That is just a 85 percent drop since the pop distributed mining company came into existence by morphing from a cancer fighting company to an AI mining outfit.
In the midst of these financial flameouts, Manny had to do some fast dancing for the US SEC because he did not do the required shareholder vote process before making some money moves. Then, a couple of weeks later, the skilled senior managers of AlphaTON announced a deal with the high flying private company Anduril. But there was one small problem. Anduril came out and said, “AlphaTON is not telling the truth.” The blue chip thinkers at AlphaTON had to issue a statement to the effect that it was acting like an AI system and hallucinating. There was no deal with Anduril.
Then the big news was AlphaTON’s cutting ties with DWF MaaS, distancing itself from the innovative owner of DWF Maas, and paying DWF MaaS an alleged US$15 million to just go away pronto.
Where is AlphaTON now?
That’s a good question. I think 2026 will allow AlphaTON to demonstrate its business acumen. Personally I hope that information becomes available to answer these questions:
- Was AlphaTON’s capitalization at US$420.69 million a joke like ATON as the ticker symbol?
- What’s the linkage among RSV Capital (Canada) and sources of money in Russia and Telegram’s TONcoin (which is totally under the control of the completely separate TON Foundation)?
- What does Enzo Villani know about mining artificial intelligence?
- What does Britany Kaiser know about mining artificial intelligence?
- What does Logan Ryan Golema, an egamer, know about building out AI data centers?
- How does AlphaTON plan to link financial services, cancer fighting, and AI mining into a profitable business in 2026?
If you want to read the post in Telegram Notes, click here.
Stephen E Arnold, January 6, 2026
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
