The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed an urgent lawsuit against
What happened
The “stumbling block” was the Gram cryptocurrency,which became the brainchild of Telegram. The Commission believes that offshore companies are conducting unregistered initial offerings (ICOs) of tokens in the United States and abroad.
Since January 2018, Telegram and TON have attracted$1.7 billion for the creation of the TON blockchain platform with Gram cryptocurrency. Also during this time, about 2.9 billion Gram digital tokens were sold at reduced prices to 171 primary buyers around the world, including more than 1 billion Gram to 39 investors in the United States.
Telegram promises investors to issue a cryptocurrency and open access to it by October 31 of this year.
What is the problem
The Securities and Exchange Commission says thatHowever, investors were not provided with information about transactions with tokens, the financial position of the companies and risk factors and management, as required by securities law. In addition, the creators of TON did not register the sale and further circulation of the Gram cryptocurrency, which is a violation of the provisions of the US Securities Act of 1933.
“Our emergency actions are aimed at preventing Telegram from flooding the US markets with digital tokens that we believe were sold illegally,” said SEC spokesperson Stephanie Avakian.
The court approved the lawsuit and temporarily banned the initial placement of tokens. Telegram will also have to pay a fine.