Author:C Labs Cryptocurrency Insights
According to unaudited financial reports disclosed by the Financial Times, Telegram, often dubbed the "dark horse" version of WeChat, generated revenue of $870 million in the first half of 2025, representing a 65% year-over-year increase and a significant jump from the $525 million recorded during the same period in 2024.
From the perspective of "pulling in revenue," this is a quite impressive growth curve.
But the problem lies in the profit side. Telegram recorded a net loss of over $220 million in the first half of 2025, compared to a net profit of $334 million in the same period last year.
The losses were not due to the collapse of its core business, but rather stemmed from a significant decline in the value of Toncoin (TON) it held during 2025, prompting the company to write down the related assets.
PART 01: Telegram's Development History
Telegram, established in 2013, is one of the most important instant messaging platforms in the world.
As of 2025, Telegram has surpassed 900 million monthly active users, spanning Europe, the Middle East, South America, and emerging markets, making it one of the fastest-growing social applications globally.
For the crypto community, Telegram has become the de facto "public discussion layer" of the industry: numerous exchange announcements, project governance updates, airdrop information, OTC trading, and on-chain communities all center around Telegram.
This gives it a dual nature as both a social platform and a financial information infrastructure.
PART 02: Listing Plans on Hold
Although Telegram has announced its preparations for an IPO, the practical obstacle lies in the fact that its founder, Pavel Durov, is still under investigation in France (Breaking News! Telegram's founder is arrested, TON price plummets).
Telegram has clearly stated that it will not proceed with an initial public offering until the relevant compliance issues become clearer.
Fortunately, Telegram is not lacking capital support. In May 2025, the company completed a $1.7 billion convertible bond financing round, backed by top-tier institutions such as BlackRock and Mubadala.
PART 03: The Relationship Between Telegram and TON
The relationship between Telegram and TON is also complex.
In 2017, Telegram launched its blockchain initiative, TON (Telegram Open Network), aiming to integrate a payment system into its messaging app. It raised approximately $1.7 billion in funding in 2018. However, in 2019, the project was forced to halt after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) alleged that it involved an unregistered securities offering. In 2020, Telegram reached a settlement with regulators and officially abandoned the project.
Subsequently, TON was reborn as a community blockchain, and Telegram reconnected with it in a "non-official but deeply integrated" manner, shining brightly in 2024.
Unfortunately, in 2024, its rapid growth came to an abrupt halt after its founder, Durov, was arrested (Did the TON blockchain collapse? It has been a long time since a new block was produced).
Many of the TON ecosystem projects that were once extremely popular have now mostly faded away, with cryptocurrency prices generally retreating by more than 70%:
However, according to the latest disclosed financial reports, the relationship between Telegram and TON has long gone beyond the scope of "officially supporting a public blockchain."
The proportion of TON-related revenue is significant.
The financial report shows that approximately one-third of Telegram's revenue (about $300 million) comes from exclusive agreements related to TON, including wallet access, payment features, and ecosystem integration.
At the same time, Telegram is also one of the most important sources of circulation for TON. Since 2025, it has cumulatively sold over $450 million worth of TON, accounting for approximately 10% of the current TON market capitalization.
This means that selling coins is Telegram's main business, and at the same time, the largest manipulator causing the TON price crash is also Telegram!
