How it all began
Pavel Durov announced the launch of the TON blockchain platform, on which Gram will work,
In particular, to achieve high transaction speed- at least a thousand times higher than that of traditional payment systems (Visa and Mastercard) and 100 thousand times higher than that of Bitcoin and Ethereum, the company plans by creating a multi-level blockchain.
TON developers explain that traditionalcryptocurrencies (Bitcoin and Ethereum) all transactions are formed into blocks, and each subsequent transaction stores data about previous ones. Blocks make up a chain, and changing data on one transaction will lead to the collapse of the entire cryptocurrency network. This provides security and transparency of transactions, but significantly slows down the bandwidth of these cryptocurrencies.
On the Durov blockchain platform, each block will bework as a separate blockchain - and data processing by the system will be divided between these small blockchains. This will allow the entire system to work faster and process more transactions.
One of the first stages of the introduction of the new platform has already been completed - in July 2018, Telegram launched a service for storing passport data and other Telegram Passport documents.
Using the service, users will be able to passauthorization on various sites, while not uploading data about their documents to unsafe cloud services. In the future, Telegram Passport will transfer all data to a decentralized cloud. Their owners will be able to use cryptocurrency Gram.
Investors liked the project - at a closed ICOthe company raised $ 1.7 billion. Initially, the launch of the platform was supposed to take place in the fall of 2019, but after Durov it postponed the launch date. The reason was claims from the main US financial regulator - the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
TON problems with SEC
In the fall of 2019, TON developers began an opentesting of the platform, after completion of which the company planned to fully launch the project. But on October 11, 2019, the SEC obtained a temporary injunction on the sale of Gram tokens in the United States. The court decision ordered Telegram to register its cryptocurrency as a security or return money to American investors in case of refusal.
The documents of the regulator indicate that amongThe $ 1.7 billion collected in 2018 to launch the blockchain platform, at least $ 425 million is due to American investors who bought at least 1 billion Gram tokens. At the same time, the number of American investors can be much higher, since many participants in the ICO remain in the background.
The SEC, referring to the TON data, then said thatduring the initial placement of coins, buyers paid $ 0.37 per token, and the second round - $ 1.33 per coin. At the same time, during the massive launch of the Gram sale, the coin was supposed to cost $ 3.65. On this basis, the regulator concluded that Gram is a security, not a currency. For such activities, the company needs disclosure of information about its work and investors who are invested in the project.
The developers of the blockchain platform did not agree withWith this interpretation, they filed a counterclaim against the SEC challenging the ban. At the same time, Pavel Durov announced a postponement of the launch of the platform by five months - TON was supposed to go live on April 30, 2020.
What happens to TON now
On the day of the TON launch, Pavel Durov askedinvestors have to wait another year - by April 30, the proceedings with the SEC had not been completed, and transactions with the Gram cryptocurrency violate the direct ban of the American court.
The entrepreneur suggested that investors either return72% of investments right now (and abandon claims against the company) or wait until April 30, 2021 - then investors will receive 110% of the amount invested in cryptocurrency.
In case TON receives all necessarypermissions from regulators before this deadline, investors will receive Gram or other tokens in the same amount as stipulated in their purchase agreements - that is, without a premium.
The Bell with a link to a letter sent outTON team writes to investors that if they lose in court, Pavel Durov will return the money to investors by selling his shares of the Telegram messenger. The cost of Telegram will exceed the amount of debt generated to investors by at least several times, the publication quotes a letter from the company.
Investors surveyed by the publication intend to givemessenger has one more chance and they do not intend to withdraw their investments yet. The investors Meduza spoke with say the same thing. Probably, Pavel Durov’s project still has a chance for a successful launch - but for this the company needs to do the almost impossible: convince the American regulator that Gram is not a security. That is, to do something that has not been achieved over the past six months.