Crypto Asset Business Model Under Pressure
February 6, 2026
Another item about the Telegram / TON Foundation ecosystem. Yep, that’s a GOAT.
I know from my lectures and chats with other professionals that TON Strategy Company is not a firm that resonates. That’s okay. I find it interesting because “TON” is a go-to acronym for “The Open Network.” The “open network” is itself a verbal token for Telegram: The software, the blockchain stuff, and the goal of becoming a global financial services Walmart for crypto believers.
The TON Strategy Company is modeled upon what, until recently, was the Michael Saylor crypto treasury idea. I am not a crypto guy. I have simplified what Mr. Saylor’s Strategy Company is doing.” For me, it’s a bet on Bitcoin, the grandpa of crypto.
Thanks, Venice.ai. Good enough.
How is Strategy Company doing? Here’s a snip from “Strategy Announces Fourth Quarter 2025 Financial Results,” released on February 5, 2026, and I quote:
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Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $17.4 billion, compared to an operating loss of $1.0 billion for the fourth quarter of 2024. Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2025 includes an unrealized loss on the Company’s digital assets of $17.4 billion. This is the fourth quarterly reporting period in which we have applied fair value accounting. Digital asset impairment losses for the fourth quarter of 2024, determined in accordance with the cost-less-impairment accounting model we were subject to prior to January 1, 2025, amounted to $1.0 billion.
- Net Loss and Net Loss Attributable to Common Stock: Net loss for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $12.4 billion, or $42.93 per common share on a diluted basis, as compared to a net loss of $670.8 million, or $3.03 per common share on a diluted basis, for the fourth quarter of 2024. Net loss attributable to common stockholders for the fourth quarter of 2025 was $12.6 billion, compared to a net loss of $670.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2024.
- Cash and Cash Equivalents: As of December 31, 2025, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $2.3 billion, as compared to $38.1 million as of December 31, 2024, an increase of approximately $2.3 billion reflecting the Company’s establishment of its USD Reserve in the fourth quarter of 2025.
What’s this information have to do with TON Strategy Company? Chairman Manny Stotz studied the Strategy Company’s business model. He slapped it on his publicly traded company created in the fall of 2025.
- The per share price of TONX is about $1.80, down about 50 percent since fall 2025
- The TONcoin itself is about $1.30 per coin
- The company is searching for a new president
- TON Strategy Company’s valuation uses mark-to-market crypto holdings, not core operating revenue.
Remember, please, that TON Strategy Company is a new entity. It popped out of the financial microwave in August 2025. The meal prep began months earlier. Therefore, it is difficult to compare Strategy Company with TON Strategy Company. One has been around; the other is piping hot from the oven.
On the surface, it seems that the “value” of the crypto held by each firm has been negatively affected by a frosty crypto winter. In general, Mr. Saylor’s business model looked like a winner to someone involved with Telegram and the TON Foundation. At this point in time, February 6, 2026, both firms have some work to do. The problem is, however, that the “value” of their crypto assets seem to be the fuel on which the model operates.
The question is, “How will stakeholders react?” Will they be patient or will they get off the bus? My view is that Mr. Saylor’s organization has some cash reserves. The TON Strategy Company has some mobile numbers to call for financial support.
The next two or three quarters will be interesting for both firms. To be fair, TON Strategy Company may face more pressure that Mr. Saylor’s operation. TONcoin is linked with Pavel Durov’s philosophy. Mr. Durov awaits criminal proceedings in France. Uncertainty has increased for the pioneer company and for its imitator.
Stephen E Arnold, February 6, 2026
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