Telegram aims for $2 billion in revenue in 2025 despite losses and legal pressure

Telegram enters 2026 with mixed financial results. Messaging recorded $870 million in revenue in the first half of 2025 and is targeting $2 billion for the year. However, these ambitions are accompanied by net losses and an unstable crypto context. Between economic progress, the fall of Toncoin and regulatory pressures, the platform finds itself at a strategic turning point, while an IPO remains under study.

Telegram, revenues up sharply despite a first half of the year in deficit

Telegram experienced remarkable growth in its revenues in the first half of 2025, reaching $870 million, compared to $525 million a year earlier, an increase of 65%, despite the arrest of Pavel Durov in France.

A third of this turnover comes from exclusivity agreements linked to the Toncoin ecosystem, representing approximately $300 million. This economic performance is part of an overall objective: Telegram is targeting $2 billion in revenue over the entire 2025 financial year. A strategy which is also part of the preparations for a possible IPO, although the company remains discreet about the timetable for the operation.

This dynamic is also supported by an active debt financing policy, notably through a major bond issue in May 2025. Here is the key elements :

• $1.7 billion raised via an issue of convertible bonds, in which institutional investors such as BlackRock and Mubadala participated;

• $500 million in frozen bonds in Russia from a 2021 issue;

• Telegram has specified that its fundraising in 2025 “excluded the participation of Russian investors”and assured that Western sanctions “do not create risks for Telegram”;

• The company claims that bond payments go through international intermediaries, thereby absolving itself of any responsibility if certain holders, particularly Russian ones, cannot be repaid.

In parallel with this financial expansion, Telegram continues to assert its independence from Russia, both in its financing and its governance, a point that has become particularly sensitive when approaching any market operation.

Geopolitical challenges and financial ambitions

Behind this rise in power, the net results reveal another panorama. Telegram recorded a net loss of more than $220 million in the first half of 2025, compared to a profit of $334 million over the same period in 2024.

This decline is due to the sharp depreciation of Toncoin, which saw its value fall by 69% over the course of 2025. In response, the company has reportedly sold more than $450 million worth of TON since the start of the year. This amount represents approximately 10% of the token's current capitalization, estimated at $4.6 billion.

So, this difficult context on the crypto front is not the only cloud on the horizon. Telegram remains in the sights of the French authorities. Pavel Durov, the founder of the platform, is still under formal investigation for accusations related to the management of criminal content, including cases of child abuse.

Management nevertheless ensures that it is actively cooperating with the authorities, specifying during a call with creditors that it is awaiting clarification on this matter before considering an IPO. In a symbolic but significant gesture, Telegram also began a strategic repositioning in early 2026 with the purchase of $116 million in bitcoin, even though its unrealized losses for the fourth quarter of 2025 would amount to $17 billion.

TON is rebounding thanks to the Telegram ecosystem, which continues its integration of crypto services despite an uncertain context. Between economic ambitions and regulatory issues, the platform is refining its strategy. It remains to be seen whether this dynamic will be enough to convince investors and stabilize a model still exposed to market vagaries.