Changpeng Zhao, former chief executive officer at cryptocurrency exchange Binance, has revealed that he does not use Telegram.
While Zhao says that he personally has nothing against the popular messaging app, he had to stop using the app after being inundated with a deluge of spam messages (to the point where his phone would start to lag).
The issue is that one cannot restrict messages from random users who know your handle, which was the case for Zhao.
Telegram does not offer an in-built setting that makes it possible to block messages outside one's contact list. This, of course, leaves public figures of the likes of CZ highly exposed to incessant spamming.
In fact, Zhao claims that he personally complained about this issue to Telegram CEO Pavel Durov.
Paying for DMs?
After an X user suggested that there should be a feature that allows paying for DMs, CZ recalled that he had already tried this with ReachMe, a paid platform that the crypto mogul tested earlier this year.
Zhao initially intended to limit the volume of meaningful messages to roughly 10 per day, but it later turned out that scammers were "very willing" to pay.
Moreover, blockchain security firm SlowMist discovered a vulnerability that allowed users to avoid paying for direct messages.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team