Telegram has tried to get itself back into the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) good books by stating categorically that the Gram tokens are not designed to enrich investors. In a blog post that sought to “publicly clarify certain aspects of the TON Blockchain and Grams”, Telegram stated unequivocally that ICO investors “should NOT expect any profits” from the token, while also stating that the company may not contribute in any way to the platform once it launches.
Grams Might Make You REKT
Telegram raised a record $1.7 billion for their ICO back in 2018 at a time when ICOs weren’t the same as throwing your money straight into a furnace, and seemed to be getting close to launch in late 2018 when the SEC abruptly halted the token distribution in October based on an accusation of an “alleged unregistered, ongoing digital token offering in the U.S. and overseas”. Telegram had no choice but to halt the token distribution and consider their position, and this update illustrates that the SEC action has had an impact:
Grams are intended to act as a medium of exchange between users in the TON ecosystem. Grams are NOT investment products and there should be NO expectation of future profit or gain from the purchase, sale or holding of Grams.
Telegram also reiterated their hopes for the TON blockchain in the post, claiming that Grams will “become a true complement to traditional currencies, improving the speed, efficiency and security of everyday commercial transactions globally.” With this kind of stated ambition, which is basically the same as Facebook’s Libra, it’s amazing how the project hasn’t received a similar level of vitriol.
Telegram Might Never Build on Its Own Platform
Telegram also issued a rather worrying declaration about the platform itself:
We are creating a decentralized platform for everyone. Once it launches, Telegram won‘t be obligated to maintain the platform or create any apps for it. It’s possible we never will.
Instead, Telegram will rely on “the decentralized community of third-party developers” to build on the platform, which might be news to some who didn’t realize that Telegram planned to build the platform then walk away.
Telegram is still clearly of the opinion that they can overcome any SEC hurdles and launch successfully this year, and if past examples are anything to go by, they will probably hand over a few million in fines and carry right on.
