Editor’s note: This report was first published on 19 March 2024. It was reviewed and updated in October 2026 to correct details against primary reporting and to add a dated summary of later developments.
Telegram raised $330 million by selling bonds in March 2024, founder and CEO Pavel Durov told followers on his Telegram channel. The sale closed in the week before 18 March 2024.
Durov said the offering was oversubscribed:
This bond offering was oversubscribed, and we were delighted to have global funds of the highest caliber with impeccable reputations as participants. The terms of the bonds (when adjusted for the Federal Reserve rate) were the most favorable for Telegram in the history of our company.
He did not name the investors. He did, however, link the demand to the company’s commercial progress, writing that the interest in the bonds showed global financial institutions valued Telegram’s growth in audience and monetization.
What we know about the bond terms
According to TechCrunch, which cited people familiar with the deal:
- The bonds were issued at a price of $91, up from $78 in Telegram’s previous issue.
- The current yield was about 7.7%.
- The bonds mature in 2026 or when Telegram goes public, whichever comes first.
- The previous issue, in 2023, raised $210 million.
At the time, Telegram said it had more than 900 million users. It had been adding revenue streams, including advertising, a paid Premium subscription, blockchain-based username sales and, from early March 2024, paid business accounts.
Profitability and a possible IPO
A week earlier, Durov told the Financial Times that Telegram aimed to become profitable the following year, if not in 2024, and that it was considering a stock market listing. He explained why the company had started to charge for features:
The main reason why we started to monetize is because we wanted to remain independent. Generally speaking, we see value in [an IPO] as a means to democratize access to Telegram’s value.
Who is Pavel Durov?
Durov co-founded VKontakte (VK), Russia’s largest social network, in 2006, and was often described in the press as “Russia’s Mark Zuckerberg.” He founded Telegram in 2013 with his brother Nikolai. Durov has said he left Russia in 2014 after refusing to hand over data about Ukrainian protesters on VK to Russian security services. Telegram is headquartered in Dubai.
Update: what happened next (as of October 2026)
Telegram’s finances. In May 2025 the Financial Times reported, citing an investor presentation, that Telegram made its first annual profit in 2024: about $540 million on revenue of about $1.4 billion, after a $173 million loss in 2023. These figures come from the company’s own presentation as reported by the press, not from published audited accounts. The same month, Bloomberg reported that Telegram raised $1.7 billion through convertible bonds due in 2030, using part of the money to buy back bonds that were due in 2026. In January 2026 the FT reported, again citing unaudited statements, that Telegram’s revenue rose about 65% to $870 million in the first half of 2025, but that the company recorded a net loss of about $222 million for the period, mainly because of a write-down on its holdings of the Toncoin cryptocurrency. Its operating profit was close to $400 million.
Legal proceedings in France. On 24 August 2024, Durov was detained at Le Bourget airport near Paris. On 28 August 2024 he was placed under formal investigation on 12 counts relating to alleged failures to curb illegal activity on Telegram, and released under judicial supervision on €5 million bail. French authorities eased his travel restrictions during 2025 and lifted the ban on leaving France in November 2025. Durov has denied wrongdoing, and as of October 2026 no trial had taken place.
Charges in Russia. On 29 July 2026, Russia’s FSB security service announced that it had charged Durov with aiding terrorism and issued an international arrest warrant, accusing Telegram of failing to remove channels it said were used to plan attacks in Russia. Earlier in 2026, Durov had accused Russian authorities of inventing pretexts to restrict access to Telegram in the country.
Durov has not been convicted of any offence in either country, and he is entitled to the presumption of innocence.
Related: Threema vs Signal: Which Privacy-Driven Messenger Is Best?
Sources
- TechCrunch: Telegram raises $330 million in fresh capital through bond sales (18 March 2024)
- Bloomberg: Telegram raises $1.7 billion convertible bond to fund debt swap (29 May 2025)
- Cryptonews: Telegram revenue hits $870M, citing the Financial Times (6 January 2026)
- Al Jazeera: Telegram boss Pavel Durov placed under formal investigation in France (28 August 2024)
- TechCrunch: Telegram founder Pavel Durov allowed to leave France (17 March 2025)
- Al Jazeera: Russia charges Telegram founder Pavel Durov with ‘aiding terrorism’ (29 July 2026)
