#SocialMedia#Messaging#Telegram#Privacy#CyberSecurity: "Taking the company public would change the power structure and force greater disclosure, although Durov could maintain voting control by issuing dual class shares.
Monetising messaging apps is not easy. Users do not want adverts to pop up in their private messages. Signal relies on donations and Meta does not give profit figures for WhatsApp.
Telegram is not yet profitable. It told the FT that it makes “hundreds of millions of dollars” in annual revenue via digital ads, crypto payments and premium subscriptions. It is planning an AI-powered chatbot, but then who is not? Server costs are large. Durov described costs as less than 70 cents per user, which translates to around $630mn a year. Revenue is below that.
Selling tokens linked to its own blockchain effort could have funded the endeavour but it was shot down by regulators. However, Telegram still facilitates use of the tokens, called Toncoins, after developers took on the project. Toncoin’s price has climbed about 60 per cent in the past year. Talk of a possible IPO is proving lucrative in more ways than one."
