Founder Durov's prosecution does not affect operations, Telegram achieves net profit for the first time.

According to a report from the Financial Times, the detention of CEO Pavel Durov by the French police has not had a 'substantial impact' on the operation of Telegram. This is because the financial statements show a significant rise in the value of its digital assets in the first half of 2024, with the value increasing from nearly $400 million at the end of 2020 to $1.3 billion. It also achieved net profit for the first time this year.

Founder Dorov is still unable to leave France despite being sued.

In August this year, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was detained by the French authorities in Paris. Although he was released on bail of 5 million euros, he was later formally charged and faced multiple serious criminal charges. These charges include assisting in managing a platform that facilitates illegal transactions and various organized crimes, which could expose him to the risk of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 euros. Durov is currently prohibited from leaving France.

(Telegram founder Pavel Durov sued for serious crimes: aiding illegal transactions and organized crime, maximum sentence of ten years)

Telegram achieves net profit 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 received compensation in exchange for allowing the cryptocurrency Toncoin to become the exclusive way for small businesses to purchase advertisements on the application. The document stated that the exclusive protocol will terminate on October 1st.

In the first half of this year, the company generated $353 million in revenue through the sale of digital assets, and then sold $348 million worth of TON.

Telegram also achieved a post-tax profit of $335 million in the first half of this year. It incurred a loss of $173 million in the full year of 2023, which also indicates that Telegram was achieving its first annual profit before Durov's detention.

Durov fully owns Telegram, TON rose to 6 dollars

Telegram is wholly owned by Durov, who has billions of dollars in Crypto Assets, but the company still has about $24 billion in debt financing, which is expected to mature in 2026. In September 2024, Telegram used part of its income to repurchase some of its own bonds for $124.5 million.

While the trading price of Telegram's bonds is still below par value, it has recovered from the dumping following Durov's detention (low point of 87 cents) and is currently quoted at 95 cents.

And TON has also risen from a low of $4.733 in early August to $6.093 today.

Telegram strengthens advertising and subscription revenue

During an interview with renowned media figure Tucker Carlson in April this year, Dorsey revealed that he has been holding hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Fiat Currency and BTC over the past decade. The company aims to remain independent and has never been about the money, nor does Telegram need to accept venture capital financing.

(Telegram founder Pavel Durov: holding hundreds of millions of dollars in Bitcoin for ten years, Telegram does not need financing)

However, according to a recent report from the Financial Times, Telegram, with only about 50 employees, is strengthening its profitability through advertising and subscription. This follows the typical business model of competitor social media and messaging platforms such as Meta and X. Durov stated that the company may go public in 2026.

According to Telegram's financial report, advertising revenue doubled to a record $120 million in the first half of this year, 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 profit for the first time, first appeared in Chain News ABMedia.