Telegram Secures Investors’ Confidence Ahead of SEC Battle 

The legal row between the mobile messaging platform Telegram and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) doesn’t seem to be ending soon, as the latter got a huge vote of confidence from its investors. On October 23, Forbes Russia reported that investors in the Telegram Open Network (TON) and GRAM token have voted against getting a refund, as the battle between Telegram and the SEC looks to drag on into next year. Citing two sources close to the company, Forbes Russia said that a majority vote had agreed to postpone the launch of the TON blockchain until April 30, 2020, while also voting to keep their investment in the project intact.

Telegram has received approval from both round 1 and round 2 investors to delay the launch of their protocol and related token distribution until end April 2020.
They believe they will have more clarity around their SEC issues by then.

— Ran Neuner (@cryptomanran) October 24, 2019

SEC botches the TON and GRAM launch 

The launch of the TON and GRAM token were all set to go down later this month, as Telegram itself had announced on October 2. However, the SEC threw a massive wrench in the Russian company’s plans when it alleged that the GRAM token’s 2018 Initial Coin Offering (ICO), where Telegram raised an estimated $1.7 billion from two separate offerings, was illegal. 

Amongst other things, the financial watchdog claimed that the upcoming GRAM tokens are a security, and by not registering it before its sale, Telegram had violated the Securities Act of 1933. The agreement between Telegram and its investors was a possible refund if the company failed to commence the rollout at the agreed date.

As Forbes Russia also reported on October 12, the SEC was further able to secure a temporary injunction to restrict the TON launch and circulation of the GRAMs, most likely meaning that the projects wouldn’t see the light of day until the conflict between both parties settled. 

An emboldened Telegram gears up for battle 

With the launch of both crypto projects now hanging in the air, Telegram’s investors had a deadline of October 23 to decide on whether they would like to demand up to 77 percent of their investment back. However, as Forbes Russia now notes, the investors believe too much in Telegram’s vision and would instead stick with the company till the end. 

Now that the messaging company has secured the confidence of its investors, it will reportedly be able to spend up to $80 million of the $1.7 billion it raised to keep the projects alive ahead of their projected April 2020 launch date. Most likely, a portion of this will be spent fighting the SEC as well. 

As for the case itself, there was a possibility that both parties would meet next year. Telegram was initially expected to appear at a New York court hearing on October 24, but according to an October 19 report from industry news medium Cointelegraph, the hearing has now been postponed to February 18 or 19, 2020.