Telegram, founded in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolay Durov, prioritizes security over collaboration with the authorities.
The popular encrypted messaging application Telegram issued more than $ 1 billion in bonds to finance its growth, its co-founder Pavel Durov announced on Tuesday, March 23.
On his Telegram channel, Durov stated that they sold these bonds to “some of the largest and most competent investors in the world.”
“This will allow Telegram to continue growing worldwide and staying true to its values, to its independence,” the co-founder congratulated.
Durov specified that the resources will support the company’s “monetization strategy” announced in December.
The messaging application then indicated that it would launch payment services from 2021 to finance its growth, after a fundraiser and virtual currency project failed.
The announcement comes when the number of new users of Telegram, reputed for its high level of encryption, has progressively increased for months.
In mid-January, after rival WhatsApp announced that it would share more data with its parent Facebook, Durov announced 25 million new users in a few days, bringing the total to more than 500 million on Telegram.
However, as a result of this growth, Telegram is facing increased spending on equipment and bandwidth, according to an article published last week by the Wall Street Journal.
The US newspaper, which cites anonymous sources and internal documents, also states that the company must repay $ 700 million to creditors by the end of April.
Telegram, founded in 2013 by the brothers Pavel and Nikolay Durov – creators of the popular Russian social network VKontakte -, prioritizes security over collaboration with the authorities, which has led to blockade attempts in several countries, such as Russia.
