The popular messaging app Telegram, whose CEO Pavel Durov was arrested on Aug. 24, reportedly held $400 million in digital assets at the end of 2023, according to the company’s 2023 financial statement.

At the end of 2023, the app had around four million premium users, a number that has grown to over five million at the time of writing.

Telegram posted an operating loss of $108 million in 2023 despite 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.” 

Screenshot of Telegram’s financial statement. Source: Financial Times

According to Statista, Telegram recorded an in-app revenue of $11.66 million in the first two months of 2024 and has raised over $4 billion in funding since it launched.

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 futures traders hedging their bets on the asset’s price after Durov’s arrest.

At the time of publication, TON traded 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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