Telegram boasted that the number of paid subscribers has quadrupled and the successful sale of Toncoin

Telegram representatives told investors that the detention of company CEO Pavel Durov by French police did not have a “significant impact” on the work of the messenger, and the value of digital assets owned by the company increased significantly, which provided additional support to the business. The Financial Times writes about this, citing its own informed sources.

Image source: unsplash.com

Telegram’s unaudited financial statements indicate that the company’s digital assets more than tripled in value in the first six months, from $400 million at the end of last year to $1.3 billion by mid-2024. According to the company’s financial documents, this was achieved, among other things, through the sale of the increasingly expensive Toncoin cryptocurrency.

According to the source, Telegram’s revenue for the first six months of this year amounted to $525 million, which is 190% more than the same period a year earlier. Nearly half of the revenue ($225 million) came from a deal with an unnamed party in which Telegram “received a fee” in exchange for Toncoin becoming the exclusive way for businesses to buy advertising on the app. It is also noted that this agreement was terminated on October 1.

In the first half of the year, Telegram’s income from the sale of digital assets amounted to $353 million, of which $348 million was received from the sale of Toncoin. During the same period, the company’s advertising revenue increased to a record $120 million, which indicates double growth compared to the same figure for the first half of 2023. Premium subscriptions brought in $119 million, up significantly from the $32 million it generated a year earlier. Experts note that Telegram successfully took advantage of favorable market conditions to sell Toncoin. This appears to have been a tactical decision and not part of a long-term monetization strategy that revolves around advertising and premium subscriptions.