Documents reviewed by the Financial Times show that through transactions with the cryptocurrency Toncoin, the messaging service Telegram was able to gain a financial buffer.

The reports note that in the first half of 2024, the value of digital assets owned by Telegram increased to $1.3 billion, while at the end of 2023 it was about $400 million. The main increase in revenue was driven by the sale of Toncoin and another major deal also related to this cryptocurrency.

From January to June 2024, Telegram's revenue reached $525 million, which is 190% higher than the figures for the same period the previous year.

Approximately $225 million of this amount came from a one-time agreement with an unnamed partner, which provided for the use of Toncoin by small businesses as an exclusive payment method for advertising in the app. The agreement on such exclusivity expired on October 1, as indicated in the reports.

After the arrest of Pavel Durov, the crypto asset demonstrated high volatility, and at the time of preparing the report, Toncoin was trading about 10% lower than the level at the end of August.