Telegram's recently disclosed financial report for the first half of 2025 is essentially an extremely pathological and efficient growth model.
With fewer than 100 full-time employees, it supports 1 billion users. In traditional internet logic, such a low human-to-machine ratio is almost impossible to achieve. This indicates that Telegram's operations have long been highly automated, or that it is consciously rejecting the cumbersome compliance and management structures typical of large traditional companies.
Revenue from paid subscriptions amounts to 223 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 88%. This represents the healthiest cash flow, proving that users are beginning to pay for privacy and features.
Revenue from advertising is 125 million USD. The performance of advertising revenue is quite average, because Telegram is still unwilling to establish an intrusive advertising system like Meta's.
Revenue from crypto-related activities is 300 million USD, accounting for one-third of total revenue, coming from an exclusive agreement with Toncoin.
What is particularly absurd is the financial disconnect. Although the operating profit is close to 400 million USD, the net loss recorded is 222 million. This apparent loss on paper is entirely due to the depreciation of $TON leading to asset revaluation.
Telegram's fate is now completely locked in with $TON . It is no longer a purely social software company, but a hedge fund holding a massive position in cryptocurrency assets.
The logical flaw in this model lies in the extreme concentration of single risks.
A team of 100 is a myth technologically, but a disaster legally and compliantly. Faced with regulatory pressure from France and globally, a streamlined team like theirs simply does not have enough redundancy to cope with legal battles.
The news released today about the postponement of the IPO is essentially a reflection of the market's distrust of this individual heroism management model.
For example, the revenue target for 2025 is 2 billion USD. If this number is to be achieved, Telegram must resolve conflicts with real legal frameworks while maintaining a decentralized narrative.
If capital exit cannot be achieved through the IPO, this highly token-protocol-dependent revenue structure could make the company's balance sheet uncontrollable during the next fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market.
With fewer than 100 full-time employees, it supports 1 billion users. In traditional internet logic, such a low human-to-machine ratio is almost impossible to achieve. This indicates that Telegram's operations have long been highly automated, or that it is consciously rejecting the cumbersome compliance and management structures typical of large traditional companies.
Revenue from paid subscriptions amounts to 223 million USD, a year-on-year increase of 88%. This represents the healthiest cash flow, proving that users are beginning to pay for privacy and features.
Revenue from advertising is 125 million USD. The performance of advertising revenue is quite average, because Telegram is still unwilling to establish an intrusive advertising system like Meta's.
Revenue from crypto-related activities is 300 million USD, accounting for one-third of total revenue, coming from an exclusive agreement with Toncoin.
What is particularly absurd is the financial disconnect. Although the operating profit is close to 400 million USD, the net loss recorded is 222 million. This apparent loss on paper is entirely due to the depreciation of $TON leading to asset revaluation.
Telegram's fate is now completely locked in with $TON . It is no longer a purely social software company, but a hedge fund holding a massive position in cryptocurrency assets.
The logical flaw in this model lies in the extreme concentration of single risks.
A team of 100 is a myth technologically, but a disaster legally and compliantly. Faced with regulatory pressure from France and globally, a streamlined team like theirs simply does not have enough redundancy to cope with legal battles.
The news released today about the postponement of the IPO is essentially a reflection of the market's distrust of this individual heroism management model.
For example, the revenue target for 2025 is 2 billion USD. If this number is to be achieved, Telegram must resolve conflicts with real legal frameworks while maintaining a decentralized narrative.
If capital exit cannot be achieved through the IPO, this highly token-protocol-dependent revenue structure could make the company's balance sheet uncontrollable during the next fluctuation in the cryptocurrency market.
