Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov has started paying Bitcoin-grants to proxy and VPN service administrators.
"As part of digital resistance - a decentralized movement in defense of digital freedoms and progress - I began to pay Bitcoin grants to proxy and VPN administrators," Durov wrote in a post on his VKontakte account.
Durov said he is ready to sacrifice millions of dollars towards that goal. He urged all to join and participate by setting up proxy/VPN servers or by financing them.
“I urge everyone to join and participate - setting up proxy / vpnservers or their financing,” Durov said.
The statement comes after Russia’s state telecommunications regulator on Monday started blocking access to messenger service Telegram.
By Siranush Ghazanchyan