According to a report from the UK (Financial Times), the detention of CEO Durov (Pavel Durov) has had no "substantial impact" on Telegram's operations, as financial statements show that the value of its digital assets has significantly increased in the first half of 2024, rising from nearly $400 million at the end of 2020 to $1.3 billion, and achieving net profitability for the first time this year.
Founder Durov faces charges and remains unable to leave France.
In August this year, Telegram's founder Pavel Durov was detained by French authorities in Paris. Although he was released on a €5 million bail, he was later formally charged and faces multiple serious criminal charges. These charges include assisting in the management of a platform that facilitates illegal transactions and various organized crimes, which could put him at risk of up to 10 years in prison and a €500,000 fine. Durov is currently still prohibited from leaving France.
(Telegram founder Pavel Durov faces serious charges: assisting illegal transactions and organized crime, with a maximum sentence of ten years)
Telegram has achieved net profitability for the first time.
According to Telegram's financial report for the first half of the year, Telegram's revenue was $525 million, a 190% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Nearly half of the revenue (about $225 million) came from one-time transactions, where Telegram was compensated in exchange for allowing the cryptocurrency Toncoin to become the exclusive way for small businesses to purchase ads on the app. The document stated that the exclusivity agreement ended on October 1.
In the first half of this year, the company generated $353 million in revenue from the sale of digital assets, followed by the sale of $348 million in TON.
Telegram also achieved a post-tax profit of $335 million in the first half of this year. It recorded a loss of $173 million for the entire year of 2023, indicating that Telegram was achieving its first annual profit before Durov was detained.
Durov fully owns Telegram, and TON has rebounded to $6.
Telegram is fully owned by Durov, who possesses billions of dollars in cryptocurrency wealth, but the company still has about $2.4 billion in debt financing, which is expected to mature in 2026. In September 2024, Telegram used part of its earnings to repurchase some of its own bonds for $124.5 million.
Although the trading price of Telegram's bonds is still below par, it has recovered from the sell-off after Durov's detention (a low of $0.87) and is currently quoted at $0.95.
And TON has also rebounded from a low of $4.733 in early August to today's $6.093.
Telegram strengthens advertising and subscription revenue.
In April of this year, Durov revealed in an interview with prominent media personality Tucker Carlson that for the past 10 years, he has held hundreds of millions of dollars in fiat and Bitcoin. The company aims to maintain independence and has never been for the money; Telegram also does not need to accept venture capital funding.
(Telegram founder Pavel Durov: Holding hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin for a decade, Telegram doesn't need financing)
However, according to earlier reports from (Financial Times), Telegram has only about 50 employees and is strengthening profitability through advertising and subscriptions. This follows the typical business model of competitors in social media and messaging platforms such as Meta and X. Durov stated that the company might go public in 2026.
According to Telegram's financial report, advertising revenue in the first half of this year approximately doubled, reaching a record $120 million, while paid subscription revenue was $119 million, compared to $32 million in the same period last year.
This article, 'Founder Durov's prosecution does not affect operations, Telegram achieves net profitability for the first time,' first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.
