In 2013, Telegram was launched by Nikolai and Pavel Durov.The objective of the Telegram Open Network (TON) is to provide a new blockchain solution which will meet the scalability and speed required for the mass adoption of digital currencies.
Currently, Telegram is working on its plans to launch its blockchain network. However, they also recently stated that they will not integrate their cryptocurrency, Gram, into their messaging app at the time of launch. Currently, Telegram has over 300million subscribers on its messaging app and Gram will be launched as a standalone app instead.
What Telegram is launching is the TON Wallet, which will be a separate application and will not affect the normal Telegram messaging app. It is expected that the TON Wallet is going to be competing with other wallet applications in the market,which have been designed and operated by other third parties.
Despite its recent statement, Telegram has also confirmed that there is chance that they may integrate their TON Wallet app with the messaging app, but that this would happen later if the law permits them to do so.
Telegram Defying the SEC
While Telegram is planning on launching its cryptocurrency network, for now, this move would be against SEC directives. It all started in 2019 when the U.S Securities and Exchange Commissionhalted Telegram’s Open network release, citing it to be an unregistered security offer. Telegram, however, disputed the matter.
Pavel Durov, who is the co-founder of Telegram, will be appearing before the court in New York for a case hearing about TON, where the SEC will question him regarding the expected crypto network. There isthe chance for a significant loss in case the court rules Gram to be a security. This means that Telegram will have to abandon the whole project and pay back its investors the amount of over $1.7 billion.
Until now, Telegram has always maintained that Gram does not constitute securities. Its lawyers have also maintained the same, even in the strong worded letters which have been sent to the SEC.
Gram Are Not Securities
In today’s notice, Telegram provided many factors in defense of Gram, providing details as to why Telegram does not consider their cryptocurrency to be recognized as securities.
The notice from Telegram clearly states that for anyone holding Gram, they should not expect to make any profits nor does Telegram make any promises of profits to people who decide to buy Gram, since they are only offering it as a medium of exchange for users within the TON ecosystem. They also reconfirmed in their statement released today that Gram is not an investment product, and there should be no future expectations of making any profits by either holding or selling Gram.
The notice released, however, seems to be an answer to questions that usually come from the Howey Test, which is a framework designed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to ascertain whether an asset is a security or not.In addition, Telegram has confirmed that the code for their TON Blockchain will always be open source and publicly viewable.
Now, we will need to wait to see if the TON Blockchain will even get the opportunity to launch.