Telegram

In 2024, Telegram added monthly subscriptions paid in Stars and Star Reactions, while the messaging app claimed 950 million active users [[30]](#src-30). In late August 2024, after the arrest of founder Pavel Durov, Telegram's global iOS downloads rose about 4% and the app climbed from No. 18 to No. 8 in the US App Store top apps chart, according to Appfigures data reported by TechCrunch [[105]](#src-105). On Mar 19, 2025, Durov said Telegram had more than 1 billion monthly active users, up from 950 million the previous year [[104]](#src-104). The same year, its revenue reached $1.4B for a first annual profit of $540M, according to figures relayed by a third-party statistics site [[31]](#src-31). In 2026, Telegram Ads claims 1 billion users and 1 trillion monthly views in public channels [[29]](#src-29). Owners of eligible channels can receive 50% of the revenue from ads shown in their channel, paid posts earn the equivalent of $0.013 per Star, and donations go through Star Reactions, with Telegram stating that these rewards can be changed or removed at any time [[28]](#src-28)[[29]](#src-29). In October 2026, the claimed audience is massive, but the sharing terms remain at Telegram's discretion [[28]](#src-28), and Toncoin, the cryptocurrency linked to the ecosystem, has lost 36.8% over one year [[11]](#src-11).

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