Student coder nets $20,000 from Telegram Algorithm Cup
A US high-school student has made about $20,000 by selling a Telegram digital collectible awarded for his performance at this month’s International Olympiad in Informatics. Telegram founder Pavel Durov said Jonathan He, who won a gold medal and finished seventh overall at IOI 2026, sold his Algorithm Cup for 15,000 Grams, valuing the transaction at roughly $20,000. The collectible was among a…
A US high-school student, Jonathan He, has sold a Telegram digital collectible for $20,000 after winning a gold medal at this month’s International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI 2026). Telegram founder Pavel Durov confirmed the sale, noting that the amount is significant for a student and could serve as seed money. The collectible is among a limited set awarded to medal-winning young programmers following the competition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Durov, who launched his first company with $20,000 two decades ago, compared the sum to his early entrepreneurial success. He finished seventh overall at IOI 2026 with 436.15 points, earning one of 31 gold medals. Telegram initially planned to give Algorithm Cups worth $117,000 to 235 winners, but only distributed 188 cups after the event.
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