Telegram Holds $400M in Digital Assets With Most Revenue Coming From Crypto
Telegram's financial statements have shown that the majority of its revenue comes from digital assets.
Following the arrest of its CEO, Parol Durov, Telegram's financial statements for FY2023 have been revealed by The Financial Times.
The revelation marks the first time the company's financials are brought to light. After all, as a private company, it does not have to disclose its financial position.
According to the income statement, Telegram generated revenue of $342 million with an operating loss of $107 million following huge development and support expenses. Telegram's balance sheet shows that it holds digital assets, worth nearly $400 million.
The statements come from one of its main operating subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates although the company is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.
In the revenue breakdown, it appears that the majority of the revenue is derived from activities related to digital assets. Specifically, integrated wallets and sales of collectables contributed $147 million, accounting for close to 43% of overall revenue.
According to the report, "Integrated Wallets" allow users to store, send, and receive digital assets and the revenue is from the provision of the API interface to The Open Network Foundation which allows Integrated Wallets to be integrated into Telegram.
Revenue from the sale of collectables refers to username or virtual phone numbers sold on the TON network. Revenue is likely to be collected in TON, the native token that has experienced a significant decline following the arrest of Durov recently.
Telegram provides further insights into its digital assets holdings by categorizing it into Level 1 and Level 3, with around 64% of its digital assets categorized under Level 3. There are no specifics regarding which digital assets Telegram currently holds.
Given that the arrest situation is still ongoing, it remains to be seen how Telegram’s revenue will be affected and how much of an impact the decrease in TON price will have on the company.