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Telegram Ceo Pavel Durov Says Bitcoin Helped Fund His Lifestyle
Crypto Trends

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov Says Bitcoin Helped Fund His Lifestyle

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Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov revealed that he invested in Bitcoin in its early days and has used his holdings to support his lifestyle. Speaking on Lex Fridman’s podcast, the Russian entrepreneur said he bought his first few thousand Bitcoins in 2013, paying around $700 per coin.

“I was a big believer in Bitcoin since more or less the start of it,” Durov said. He admitted that the price dropped below $200 after his purchase, but he remained confident. “I don’t care. I’m not going to sell it. I believe in this thing,” he added.

Bitcoin as a financial safety net

Durov explained that Bitcoin helps him fund personal expenses, including renting luxury locations and flying private. He emphasized that Telegram is a money-losing operation for him personally. “Bitcoin is something that allowed me to stay afloat,” he said. 

He also predicted that Bitcoin could eventually reach $1 million due to continuous government money printing. “Nobody’s printing Bitcoin. It has predictable inflation and will stop being made at a certain point,” he explained.

TON blockchain and NFT growth

Durov also discussed Telegram’s blockchain project, the Telegram Open Network (TON). Designed in 2018-2019, TON aimed to provide scalable blockchain support for Telegram’s millions of users, which he said Bitcoin and Ethereum couldn’t handle efficiently. The key innovation was shardchains, allowing high scalability.

Although regulatory issues prevented Telegram from fully rolling out TON in the US, the project is still going on as The Open Network. It is currently a significant participant in NFT trading. 

Meanwhile, Toncoin, the network’s native token, is currently trading at $2.67 with a market cap of almost $6.8 billion, according to CoinMarketCap data.

Also Read: Pavel Durov Claims French Intel Tried Pressuring Telegram Channels



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Travel Tech
Product Reviews

These must-have accessories helped me power through my overseas trip to IFA 2025

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I recently took a trip overseas to Germany for IFA 2025, which meant I had to bring some essential gear to keep my devices charged while on the go. These devices ranged from a multi-outlet USB-C wall adapter to a portable 25,000 mAh battery to a thin MagSafe battery for my iPhone to a Euro plug converter for keeping my devices charged in my hotel room in Berlin.

Ugreen 65-watt Retractable USB-C Power Block

🧳 Ugreen USB-C Power Block

I actually picked up both 45-watt and 65-watt Ugreen retractable USB-C power blocks during the last Amazon Prime Day event in July. I took the 65-watt version with me on my trip due to its higher power output.


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Image credit: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: Tom’s Hardware

When using it to charge a single device, the retractable USB-C cable can deliver up to 60 watts. The USB-C port tops out at 60 watts, while the USB-A port doles out 22.5 watts. If you’re charging two devices at once, either the retractable USB-C cable or the USB-C port can deliver a maximum of 45 watts, with the other topping out at 25 watts.

While in my hotel room, I used the Ugreen adapter to supply power to my 3-in-1 travel MagSafe charger via the retractable USB-C cable and to charge my MacBook Air with the USB-C port. Even with my MacBook Air, iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods Pro charging all at once, the adapter was just barely warm to the touch. The thermal performance is likely due to the Gallium Nitride (GaN) power transistors, which help improve efficiency and thus reduce heat output.

The 65-watt Green USB-C Power Bank is currently on sale for $37.99. If you can get by with the lower-output 45-watt version, it sells for $28.99.

Anker 737 Power Bank

🧳 Anker 737

My Anker 737 is my go-to power source when flying, and I’ve had it for nearly two years at this point. The power bank features a 24,000 mAh internal battery that has enough juice to charge an iPhone 16 Pro from empty to full four times.

The Anker 737 has two USB-C ports, each of which can deliver up to 140 watts if just one device is attached. There’s also a USB-A port that tops out at 18 watts. When you’ve fully depleted the power bank, if you have a 140-watt charger on hand, you can get it back to a 100 percent charge in 52 minutes.

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

One of my favorite features of the power bank is the built-in OLED display, which provides information on the current charge capacity, the estimated time to deplete the battery based on the current output, and the wattage delivered to each port.


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While crossing the Atlantic on my NYC to Berlin leg of my trip, I used the Anker 737 to charge my iPhone 16 Pro (not in use) and iPad Pro (as I binge-watched The Pitt). Granted, I could have used the power outlet near the floor, mounted on the seat in front of me. However, since I was in the aisle seat, and the two passengers beside me kept getting up to use the bathroom, which would have required me to keep unplugging to let them pass. With the Anker 737, I just set the battery beside me in my seat. It’s also a lot easier than fumbling, trying to find the seat-mounted power outlet in the dark.

The Anker 737 is currently priced at $87.99, or 20 percent off its MSRP of $109.99.

Baseus MagSafe Portable Charger for iPhone, 10,000mAh 20W Magnetic Power Bank

🧳 Baseus MagSafe Portable Chargerk

When on the ground in Berlin, I was in and out of meetings, in and out of Ubers, and walking around the show floor without easy access to power. It’s easy to run through my phone’s battery when taking tons of pictures, uploading those images to the cloud, and recording interviews for execs.

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

As a result, I use a Baseus 10,000 mAh 20W MagSafe battery. It magnetically attaches to the back of my phone, doubling its thickness. Despite the added heft, I still have no trouble fitting it in my front pants pocket. It has enough capacity to provide a 0-100 percent charge (and a bit more) on my iPhone 16 Pro. The battery pack recharges via its USB-C port. You can also recharge your phone or another device via the USB-C port at up to 20 watts if you don’t want to bother with the MagSafe function.

I bought my Baseus MagSafe battery charger on clearance from Woot.com for $18.99. However, a newer, 22.5-watt version of the device is currently available from Amazon for $26.99.

VINTAR International Power Plug Adapter

🧳 Vintar Power Plug Adapter

All of my U.S. plugs are useless in Europe without a travel plug adapter. I previously bought a VINTAR 2-pack of Euro travel adapters for a family vacation to Greece last year, and took one along for my trip to Berlin.

Image credit: Tom’s Hardware

Image credit: Tom’s Hardware

The plug is quite versatile, offering two U.S.-style outlets, three USB-A ports, and one USB-C port for your devices. The plug is sturdy and doesn’t feature moving parts, making it less susceptible to breaking from continual use and being tossed in my carry-on bag.

The VINTAR European Travel Plug Adapter is available in a two-pack for $19.99 at Amazon.



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I was terrified of answering the door before playing this freaky-faced apocalyptic horror, and honestly it hasn't helped
Game Updates

I was terrified of answering the door before playing this freaky-faced apocalyptic horror, and honestly it hasn’t helped

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They took him! They took the butt ugly bloke who was squatting in the bathroom! The one who kept insisting that the sun’s burning heat was cleansing the Earth of sin and, totally unconnected from that I assume, was divorced. Those hazmat-suited fiends! I ought to give them a piece of my mind.

I bloody well will do, just as soon as I’ve worked out who’s turned two of my other guests into neatly arranged bin bags of dead parts. My suspicions are firmly lodged at the feet of the toothless and fish-faced nun who ended up the only one in that room left alive, and my trigger finger’s itchy.

These are thoughts that may end up going through your mind as you play No, I’m Not a Human, a paranoia-fuelled horror game that developers Trioskaz released into the world yesterday, September 15th. I’ve finally got around to firing up the trusty RPS press account today and giving its first hour or so a go. Thus far, it’s got me thouroughly freaked, when I’m not roaring with laughter at just how wacky some of its characters have purposefully been made to look.

If you want an idea of what I mean, check out the collage of images further down. In the meantime, to set the scene, here’s the synopsis offered by the game’s Steam page:

Sunrise. Twilight of Earth. The world is ending. Acrid auromas of sun-scorched streets fill the air. Blackened corpses gnarled into shapes of agony line streets. Peering outside is enough to scorch eyes from the socket. The only refuge is in the night. But the night belongs to the Visitors. A knock on the door. A solitary voice, begging for refuge. They look like us. Talk like us. Smell like us. Are they us? Look for the signs.

As you can tell, it’s very much sunshine and rainbows stuff. You’re a faceless person living alone, in a house with the sort of perfectly eerie atmos you can only achieve by having someone’s grandparents consult on your decor. The sun is doing a thing, so everyone’s been forced to become nocturnal and remain indoors. That’s where the Visitors come in. They’re Lovecraftian creatures said to emerged from underground, equipped with the ability to almost perfectly mirror being human and an insatiable desire to sit on your sofa.

Image credit: Critical Reflex

You probably shouldn’t do what I did: let everyone in regardless of how much they look like creepy deformed putty. That is, unless you want to wake up to a notification iniforming you that it smells like someone died last night. In an effort to try and stop that from happening, you’ve got to use up your limited energy during the day to check the guests you’ve let in for apparent signs of being a Visitor you hear via the TV or radio. Stuff like having perfectly white teeth, bloodshot eyes, or muck under their fingernails. As you can imagine, the game has fun with all of these would-be symptoms of visitordom being things any regular person might have.

So far, I’ve managed to successfully identify and blow the head off of one Visitor, as well as ruthlessly execute a couple of people who must, in hindsight, have just been regular weirdos. There’s a wonderfully foreboding anticipation to waking up each night and hearing the knock that signals the start of a parade of new guests to consider letting in, though it might be better if their arrivals were a bit more spaced out, rather than one person rocking up the moment another leaves. The sense of isolation as the game gradually feeds you scraps of info from the outside world is quite absorbing too.

I also wish No, I’m Not a Human would let me save more freely. You can do so by downing bottles of khombucha, but you only get one to start off with, meaning that if you drink that early, you can easily lose a bunch of progress. I need that progress, Trioskaz. I need to see if the hazmat fiends will return my unsightly loo-dwelling sun-worshipper.

No, I’m Not a Human is out now on Steam, priced at discounted £11.51/$13.49/€13.31 until September 29th.



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John Deaton claims XRP army helped win Ripple case
GameFi Guides

John Deaton claims XRP army helped win Ripple case

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John Deaton, the lawyer deeply involved in the Ripple case against the SEC, shares new insights into the case.

Summary

  • John Deaton shared new details from Ripple’s battle with the SEC
  • He argued about the difference that the volunteers in the XRP community made
  • Ripple’s VP Deborah McCrimmon admitted that volunteers saved the company millions

The XRP community may have made a significant difference in the Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Ripple. On Wednesday, Sept. 3, John Deaton, a lawyer who became a voice for XRP holders during the case, revealed just how impactful the community was.

“No credible person can argue that the XRP Army didn’t make a difference in the Ripple case. If they do they’re either ignorant to the facts and truth or intentionally lying,” John Deaton said.

Deaton stated that there was “conclusive evidence” of the community’s impact, both during the trial and in the ruling. Specifically, the judge cited his amicus brief and affidavits from several XRP holders in her ruling that XRP was not a security when traded on secondary markets.

No credible person can argue that the XRP Army didn’t make a difference in the Ripple case. If they do they’re either ignorant to the facts and truth or intentionally lying. We have conclusive evidence that we made a difference. There were over 2K exhibits filed in the case. In… https://t.co/WK2MfOb6wS

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 3, 2025

The proof, according to Deaton, was in the decision itself, and it shows that any individual can make an impact, no matter how small.

Ripple VP confirms the role of the XRP army

Deaton’s comments were echoed by Deborah McCrimmon, Ripple’s vice president and deputy general counsel. In a Sept. 2 interview on the Penta Podcast, she revealed that members of the XRP community actively contributed valuable work to the case. This volunteer work saved Ripple “millions” in legal fees, she explained.

“We didn’t ask them to, but once they saw this defense in our in our answer, people started finding this. I could have paid lawyers thousands of dollars, literally thousands of dollars, to do that and yet they were finding it and posting it on Twitter, and that was tremendously helpful for me.”





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GameFi Guides

AI Just Helped Make Old Cells Young Again

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In brief

  • OpenAI built GPT-4b micro, a downsized model specialized for protein engineering, in collaboration with longevity startup Retro Biosciences.
  • The model designed new variants of the Yamanaka factors, proteins used to reprogram adult cells into stem cells, achieving 50-fold higher efficiency in lab tests.
  • Researchers say the results show how AI could accelerate life sciences and longevity research, though the work remains early and lab-based.

AI isn’t just cranking out code, images, and songs anymore. Now it can redesign the proteins inside your cells.

On a company blog post, OpenAI just announced that it collaborated with Retro Biosciences, a Silicon Valley longevity startup, to train a specialized model called GPT-4b micro. Unlike the chatbots you know, this model wasn’t fine-tuned for banter or brainstorming. Instead, it was trained on protein sequences, biological text, and 3D structure data so it could propose entirely new variants of proteins used in regenerative medicine.

The results were surprising: GPT-4b micro successfully re-engineered two of the famous Yamanaka factors—proteins that won a Nobel Prize for their ability to turn adult cells back into stem cells. Stem cells are special cells that can both self-renew (regenerate) and differentiate into many other cell types in the body. They’re important because they act as the body’s repair system and hold huge potential for treating diseases, regenerating tissues, and even reversing aspects of aging.

In the lab, the AI-designed versions showed 50-fold higher expression of stem cell markers and repaired DNA damage more effectively than the originals. In other words, they made old cells act younger, faster.

Why this matters

The Yamanaka factors are central to regenerative medicine, with potential to treat blindness, diabetes, organ failure, and more. But in practice, they’re inefficient—less than 0.1% of cells usually convert to stem cells, and the process can take weeks. By finding variants that dramatically boost efficiency, AI could accelerate cell reprogramming research by years, cutting down the trial-and-error of conventional biotech.

This could ripple outward:

  • Longevity startups could use AI-designed proteins to rejuvenate cells more safely and consistently.

  • Drug development timelines could shrink if models like GPT-4b micro become protein engineers on demand.

  • Synthetic biology might move past “what evolution gave us” and start exploring huge design spaces that were once impossible for humans to navigate.

But also: big caveats

The science is early, and OpenAI admits this is a proof-of-concept. Lab validation is one thing; moving into clinical therapies is another. Protein engineering is notorious for failing in translation from dish to organism, let alone into people.

There are also biosecurity worries—if AI can rapidly design powerful proteins, then that power cuts both ways. OpenAI’s answer is transparency: The work with Retro is being openly published so others can replicate and critique it.



For OpenAI, this isn’t just about one experiment; it’s about showing that language-model tooling can be redirected toward scientific discovery.

“When researchers bring deep domain insight to our models, problems that once took years can shift in days,” said Boris Power, who leads research partnerships at the company.

If that’s true, then AI won’t just change how we write or code—it could start changing what it means to age, heal, and stay alive.

Generally Intelligent Newsletter

A weekly AI journey narrated by Gen, a generative AI model.



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