Pavel Altukhov is a blockchain entrepreneur and investor who has worked in digital asset markets, decentralized finance, and blockchain infrastructure development. He is the co-founder of TAC and previously founded the TON-based liquid staking protocol bemo.finance and the digital asset investment firm vlg.digital. ^[1]

Education

Altukhov graduated from the Moscow State Institute of International Relations with a Specialist degree in International Finance in 2004. He later attended Stanford University Graduate School of Education in 2019. ^[2]

Career

Altukhov began his career in traditional financial markets, serving as Vice President of Equity Sales at Veles Capital from 2015 to 2020, where he worked in equity sales and trading. In 2016, he founded vlg.digital, a digital asset investment and advisory firm focused on systematic trading strategies, investment advisory services, and risk management solutions for cryptocurrency market participants.

In 2017, Altukhov founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Andromeda Suisse AG, a Switzerland-based over-the-counter cryptocurrency trading firm that provided fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services for institutional and high-net-worth clients. He later founded and led bemo.finance from 2022 to 2024, overseeing the development of a liquid staking protocol on the TON blockchain. Since June 2024, he has served as co-founder of TAC, a blockchain infrastructure project focused on enabling Ethereum-compatible applications to interact with the TON and Telegram ecosystems. ^[2]  

Interviews

TON on EVM

In an interview with TokenPost in October 2025, Altukhov and Marco Monaco discussed the development and growth of TAC, a blockchain network integrated with the TON and Telegram ecosystems. Altukhov described his early involvement in cryptocurrency markets and the Ethereum ecosystem, explaining how those experiences influenced the creation of TAC. Monaco discussed his background in asset management and blockchain, as well as the technical challenges involved in introducing EVM compatibility and cross-chain functionality to connect Ethereum-based applications with Telegram users. The interview focused on TAC’s architecture, including its EVM-compatible infrastructure, cross-chain design, and efforts to simplify user interactions with decentralized applications through Telegram. The speakers outlined strategies for ecosystem growth, including liquidity incentive programs, user experience improvements, and support for decentralized finance services such as staking and other financial applications. They also reviewed developments following TAC’s mainnet launch in July 2025, including exchange listings, user growth, community engagement, and expansion efforts in international markets, including South Korea. Looking ahead, they identified network security, ecosystem expansion, scalability, and the development of token utility as key priorities for the following six to twelve months, while emphasizing the role of Telegram-based applications in broadening access to blockchain and decentralized finance services. ^[3]

Founder Focus

On the Globe podcast in April 2025, Altukhov shared his unique journey from an investor with a background in systematic asset management to a builder in the Web3 space. He emphasized that early involvement in crypto allowed him to understand its exponential growth and the importance of building infrastructure that bridges traditional ecosystems like Ethereum with native platforms such as TON, which is integrated with Telegram. Altukhov highlighted the project’s focus on creating a layer-one blockchain with a novel ton adapter that enables seamless interaction between Ethereum-based decentralized applications (DApps) and Telegram’s extensive user base, aiming to accelerate mainstream adoption. He stressed the importance of infrastructure that simplifies user onboarding and interaction with blockchain without requiring deep technical knowledge, advocating a consumer-focused approach that extends blockchain utility beyond crypto-native communities. Altukhov also outlined TAC’s strategic roadmap, including deploying applications on the testnet, the upcoming mainnet launch, and introducing features such as restaking and alternative VMs within the year. Throughout the interview, he highlighted the potential of merging scalable blockchain technology with powerful distribution channels like Telegram, expecting this integration to foster widespread adoption by enabling developers and users to participate in Web3 effortlessly within familiar environments. ^[6]

Presentations

Enabling the EVM World

At the Modular & L2 Day conference in September 2024, Altukhov presented the vision behind TAC and its efforts to connect Ethereum-compatible applications with Telegram’s large user base. He explained that work on the project began in 2022 with the development of liquid staking and decentralized finance infrastructure within the TON ecosystem, highlighting limitations in bringing established EVM applications to Telegram users. In response, the team developed TAC as an extension network designed to enable Ethereum developers to deploy existing applications into the TON and Telegram environment without extensive code modifications or additional security audits. Altukhov described TAC’s architecture as supporting both standalone and cross-chain functionality, allowing assets and transactions to move between networks while remaining accessible through Telegram-integrated user interfaces. He outlined plans for the network’s testnet and mainnet launches, discussed the project's funding and team growth, and addressed considerations related to security, platform governance, and ecosystem sustainability. The presentation emphasized expanding access to decentralized applications by integrating blockchain services directly into Telegram, aiming to increase user participation and liquidity across the ecosystem. ^[4]

Building on TAC

At L2Con in November 2024, Altukhov explained that their network extension, TAC, aims to connect the large Telegram community—950 million active users—with the evolving blockchain ecosystem, particularly through the open network (TON). He highlighted how the partnership between Telegram and TON, along with native features like USDT integration and simplified onboarding via Telegram wallets, paves the way for mass adoption. Tech built an EVM-compatible layer that bridges TON with Ethereum and other EVM chains, allowing developers to deploy applications without code modifications and enabling seamless user engagement within Telegram through mini-app formats. They focused on increasing liquidity, application distribution, and developer onboarding, emphasizing metrics like token capital velocity to measure activity. Altukhov underlined the importance of user experience and simplified onboarding processes, such as cross-chain messaging and in-app wallets, to attract mainstream users. The company's strategy involved fostering a developer ecosystem, supporting hybrid applications on TON, and tapping into the vast Telegram user base, with plans for a testnet release shortly and a mainnet launch targeted for early 2025. Their overall vision was to create a "blue ocean" of opportunities by integrating Web3 applications directly into a familiar social platform. ^[5]