The popular messaging app Telegram, whose CEO Pavel Durov was arrested on Aug. 24, reportedly held $400 million in digital assets as of the end of last year, according to the company’s 2023 financial statement.
The app had around four million premium users at the close of 2023, a number that has grown to over five million today.
Telegram posted an operating loss of $108 million during the year ended Dec. 31, 2023, while generating $342.5 million in revenue. According to a Financial Times report, about 40% of Telegram’s revenues came from digital asset-related activities under the categories “integrated wallet” and “sale of collectibles.”
Source: Financial Times
According to Statista, Telegram recorded an in-app revenue of $11.66 million in the first two months of 2024, raising over $4 billion since its launch.
Source: Statista
Telegram’s 2023 financial report provides details on crypto transactions
The FT report, referencing Telegram’s 2023 financial statements, said the “integrated wallet is a software program that allows users to store, send, receive and trade crypto assets.”
Regarding the “sale of collectibles,” Telegram’s financial statement noted that the company sells various types of collectibles to its users, including usernames and virtual phone numbers. The company also facilitates transactions between users for the sale of these collectibles and earns a fee for providing this service.
According to Statista, India led the world in Telegram downloads in 2023, with 83.85 million users, while the United States ranked third with 29.92 million downloads.
Durov arrest starts a chain reaction
On Aug. 24, Durov was arrested when his plane landed at Le Bourget airport outside Paris. He allegedly faces charges of terrorism, trafficking, conspiracy, fraud, money laundering and more. He was taken to court from custody on Aug. 28.
Related: Toncoin open interest surges 32% following Pavel Durov’s arrest
Toncoin (TON), the native coin of The Open Network and originally developed by the Telegram messaging app, saw a surge of future traders hedging their bets on the asset’s price after Durov’s arrest.
At the time of publication, TON was trading at about $5.30, down more than 21% from about $6.70 in the last seven days, according to CoinMarketCap data. At the same time, its market capitalization has taken almost 2% hit to $13.42 billion.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Despite the price decline and change in market sentiment, various technical and market factors indicate that TON might be poised for a rebound. If the market perceives the arrest as an isolated incident that doesn’t fundamentally damage the Toncoin ecosystem, traders could see the dip as a buying opportunity amid the panic.
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