Telegram's revenue surges by 65%: How the crypto ecosystem is reshaping the social giant's business blueprint?

In the first half of 2025, Telegram’s revenue reached an astonishing $870 million, a 65% surge compared to $525 million in the same period last year.

The core driver of this growth stems from its ecosystem’s cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON), with exclusive agreements related to TON contributing approximately $300 million in revenue, accounting for one-third of its total revenue.

01 Revenue Leap and Annual Goals

Telegram’s financial performance is experiencing unprecedented accelerated growth. According to unaudited financial data reported by the Financial Times, this crypto-friendly messaging platform achieved $870 million in revenue in the first half of 2025.

This figure represents a 65% increase from $525 million in the same period in 2024, demonstrating remarkable growth speed.

The company, wholly owned by founder Pavel Durov, has set an ambitious full-year revenue target of $2 billion for 2025. Considering the $870 million already achieved in the first half, it needs to generate $1.13 billion in the second half to meet its annual goal.

The company’s commercialization process appears to be accelerating. Compared to the full-year 2024 revenue of $1.4 billion and net profit of $540 million, Telegram was still at a loss of $173 million in 2023. This shift from significant losses to substantial profits marks the successful implementation of its monetization strategy.

02 Growth Engine: Commercialization of the Crypto Ecosystem

Financial data shows that Telegram’s growth is largely attributable to its deep integration with the crypto ecosystem. Of the $870 million revenue in the first half, about $300 million comes from so-called “exclusive cooperation agreements,” which are closely related to Telegram’s ecosystem cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON).

This means that income generated from TON-related activities can now rival traditional revenue sources such as advertising and subscription services.

In addition to exclusive agreements, other business lines of Telegram also show strong growth. Premium subscription services contributed $223 million, while advertising revenue increased to $125 million.

Notably, Telegram’s Fragment marketplace and various in-app purchases heavily rely on TON for settlement, further deepening the company’s ties to the crypto ecosystem.

The platform’s user base continues to expand, now exceeding 1 billion monthly active users, with about 500 million being daily active users. Paid subscription users surged from 4 million at the end of 2023 to 15 million, demonstrating high user recognition for value-added services.

03 Crypto Logic Behind Net Losses

Despite strong revenue performance, Telegram recorded a net loss of over $220 million in the first half of 2025, contrasting sharply with a net profit of $334 million in the same period in 2024.

This sharp shift from profit to loss is mainly due to impairment of its Toncoin assets.

According to CoinGecko data, Toncoin’s price declined by approximately 69% during 2025. This significant devaluation forced Telegram to write down its crypto assets, resulting in substantial financial losses.

Ironically, Telegram’s large-scale sell-off may have contributed to the decline in TON’s price. The company disclosed that it sold over $450 million worth of TON tokens within the year. Based on market data at the time of reporting, this sell-off accounted for about 10% of TON’s total market cap of $4.6 billion.

By the end of June, the company’s digital assets had decreased from $1.3 billion a year earlier to $787 million, mainly due to token sales and price drops.

04 Risks, Challenges, and IPO Prospects

While Telegram benefits from the crypto ecosystem, it also faces a series of risks and challenges. About $500 million in company bonds are frozen in Russia’s central securities depository due to Western sanctions against Russia.

Although Telegram spokesperson stated that these bonds were issued in 2021 and that the company “does not rely on Russian or Russian capital,” this incident still highlights the company’s risk exposure in Russia.

In recent years, Telegram has issued multiple bonds, including a $1.7 billion convertible bond issued in May 2025. Major supporters include investment giant BlackRock and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund Mubadala. Reports indicate that the company has repurchased most of the bonds maturing in 2026.

Founder Pavel Durov is also under formal investigation by French authorities for allegedly failing to adequately address criminal content on the platform. This legal uncertainty is considered a key obstacle to Telegram’s potential IPO process.

A partnership with xAI—integrating the Grok chatbot into the platform and sharing revenue—may bring new growth opportunities for Telegram, although specific terms have not been disclosed.

05 Gate Perspective: Linking Crypto Ecosystem and Trading Markets

For traders and investors on Gate, Telegram’s financial report offers an excellent case study of the integration between the crypto ecosystem and traditional business. As a leading global crypto-friendly social platform, its path to monetization directly influences the development direction of the entire crypto market.

Currently, Toncoin (TON) is trading at about $1.93, significantly down from its all-time high of $8.25, but still up over 60% compared to a year ago. This price volatility vividly reflects the high uncertainty in the crypto market.

It is also noteworthy that Telegram’s financial report reveals common challenges faced by crypto projects: over-reliance on a single asset. When one-third of the company’s total revenue is directly tied to TON’s price performance, market fluctuations can amplify the impact on its financial health, serving as a warning to all projects deeply linked to their own tokens.

For traders monitoring this sector on Gate, real-time tracking of TON and related ecosystem projects’ prices is especially important. The platform’s latest data and analysis tools can help investors make more informed decisions.

Telegram’s monetization path also demonstrates the enormous potential of the “social + finance” model. As more social platforms explore similar monetization methods, cryptocurrencies as a value transfer medium will be further strengthened, potentially creating new trading opportunities and market trends.

06 Summary

Telegram’s financial performance in the first half of 2025 presents a contradictory yet thought-provoking picture. On one hand, $870 million in revenue and 65% year-over-year growth highlight its significant success in monetization.

On the other hand, a net loss of over $220 million reveals the substantial impact of crypto asset price fluctuations on emerging business models.

Looking at the full-year target of $2 billion in revenue, Telegram needs to generate $1.13 billion in the second half, requiring the company to maintain its current growth momentum while further diversifying its income sources.

The challenges it faces are formidable—from the $500 million frozen bonds, to founder Durov’s investigation in France, to over-reliance on the TON ecosystem. These multiple risk factors intertwine, making the company’s future IPO path uncertain.

For observers and participants in the crypto industry, Telegram’s case offers a valuable lesson on balancing innovation, growth, and risk. As social platforms and the crypto ecosystem become increasingly intertwined, similar business models may become more common, and Telegram’s success or failure will provide valuable experience for the entire industry.

In exploring the crypto world, diversified portfolios and thorough risk assessment remain the cornerstone of long-term participation in this innovative field.