Telegram reaches historic profitability milestone, with ample cash reserves, despite legal challenges faced by founder Pavel Durov in 2024.
Telegram records its first-ever profit, with 2024 revenue exceeding $1 billion
According to a post on Pavel Durov's X platform, the founder and CEO of Telegram, the popular messaging app in the crypto community, has reported its first-ever profit since its launch over 10 years ago.
The platform's revenue surpassed the $1 billion mark in 2024, driven by a threefold increase in the number of Premium user accounts, reaching 12 million. Additionally, Durov stated that Telegram is closing out 2024 with $500 million in cash reserves, excluding crypto assets.
A report from The New York Times reveals that crypto plays a significant role in Telegram's revenue, as the platform has sold hundreds of millions of dollars in digital currencies, including the Toncoin (TON) token from The Open Network, a blockchain project associated with the Telegram messaging app.
Telegram is now profitable 🏆
— Pavel Durov (@durov) December 23, 2024
📈 This year, the number of Telegram Premium subscribers tripled, exceeding 12 million. Our ad revenue also increased a few times. Telegram's total revenue in 2024 surpassed $1 billion, and we are closing the year with more than $500 million in cash…
The 2023 financial statements revealed by Financial Times show that the platform recorded nearly $400 million in crypto assets, and the value of these assets has since grown to $1.3 billion in the first half of 2024.
Telegram's 2023 financial report disclosed by Financial Times
While achieving this significant financial milestone, 2024 has also been a turbulent year for Telegram and CEO Pavel Durov. The Russian billionaire, with a net worth of over $15 billion, is facing one of the most high-profile criminal investigations in the tech industry.
Durov was arrested in France in August on multiple charges of complicity in criminal activities that have "flourished" on his messaging app, leading to a decline in the TON token price. He was released on bail of around $5 million but must remain in the country to await trial, subject to "loose" supervision and periodic checks by local authorities.
The CEO, after a few days "behind bars," has announced that he will increase content moderation efforts to curb criminal activities, but is also willing to leave countries that are not legally friendly. Durov himself has also expressed trust in the decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies and has held Bitcoin for the past 10 years.
Meanwhile, Telegram has ramped up its content moderation efforts by revising its terms of service and hiring over 750 content moderators. Additionally, the TON token has recovered 22% and nearly regained all of its lost value since Durov's arrest in late August, indicating investors' strong confidence in the project.
Price movement of the TON token in the late August 2024 period, as of 8:50 PM on December 24, 2024, on CoinGecko
Compiled by Coin68
