Telegram abandons $1.7 billion crypto project | cross pond high tech | Scoop.it
From decrypt.co - May 13, 2020 11:59 AM

In brief

  • Telegram has abandoned TON
  • The SEC delayed the launch of TON and Telegram had to give investors their money back.
  • It won’t support third-party efforts.
 

Telegram, the operator of the 400 million-strong messenger app, today announced that it has given up on its upcoming blockchain network, the Telegram Open Network, following a lengthy, protracted dispute with the SEC.

"Today is a sad day for us here at Telegram. We are announcing the discontinuation of our blockchain project.” wrote Pavel Durov, co-founder of Telegram, in a blog post. “Telegram’s active involvement with TON is over.”

 

Since October, the SEC has alleged that Telegram’s $1.7 billion ICO in 2018 for the cryptocurrency that powers the network, Grams, constituted an illegal securities offering.

Though Telegram denied the charges, the SEC secured one temporary injunction after another, delaying the launch of the network. Due to a clause in the purchasing agreement for Grams, Telegram promised it would return the tokens if the network didn’t launch by April 30. 

The network didn’t launch, so Telegram offered to return investors their money.

The project folded less than two weeks later.