{"id":247823,"date":"2020-01-23T07:13:33","date_gmt":"2020-01-23T12:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/?p=247823"},"modified":"2020-01-23T07:13:33","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T12:13:33","slug":"blockchain-advocacy-group-sides-with-telegram-in-ongoing-sec-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/blockchain-advocacy-group-sides-with-telegram-in-ongoing-sec-row","title":{"rendered":"Blockchain Advocacy Group Sides with Telegram in Ongoing SEC Row\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Chamber of Digital Commerce has chimed in on the current legal tussle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and mobile messaging giant Telegram, as the legal battle raging between both entities continues to brew into 2020.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">If you recall, <a href=\"http:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/telegram-bemoans-compulsion-to-ensure-financial-data-compliance\/246801\">Telegram<\/a> has been on the fast track towards launching a digital asset- the GRAM token. The firm launched an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for the token some years back, where it raised a total of $1.7 billion from two token offerings for the GRAM and the Telegram Open Network (TON)- its blockchain platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Telegram had planned to launch the asset by late October 2019, but the SEC had other plans and subsequently sued the London-based tech giant for selling a security without registering with it or getting an exemption- effectively running afoul of the Securities Act of 1933.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Telegram Didn\u2019t Break Any Laws\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Over the past four months, the legal tussle has involved back and forth filings between both entities, with <a href=\"http:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/telegram-agrees-to-disclose-financial-records-related-to-gram-ico\/247011\">Telegram<\/a> maintaining that its asset isn\u2019t a security, and the SEC is simply conducting an unfounded investigation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Digital Commerce Chamber weighed in yesterday, pointing out in an\u00a0<\/span><a class=\"_e75a791d-denali-editor-page-rtfLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/docket\/16325310\/securities-and-exchange-commission-v-telegram-group-inc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">amicus brief<\/span><\/a><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u00a0filed by Lilya Tessler- a partner Sidley Austin, the chamber\u2019s New York-based counsel- that the GRAM tokens aren\u2019t entirely securities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The Chamber primarily functions as an advocacy group that fights for the rights of companies in the blockchain and digital asset space, as well as the improved adoption of digital assets. In its filing, it attempted to give pointers to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on how it should consider digital assets- and, by extension, rule on the case at hand.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Amongst other things, it argued that while it wasn\u2019t looking to prove that Telegram\u2019s ICO wasn\u2019t a securities transaction, it would like to ensure that there\u2019s enough regulatory clarity surrounding the digital asset space.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Advocating for Clearer Laws Going Forward\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The advocacy group also urged the court to mark a distinction between digital assets, which it termed as the subject of an investment contract, and the securities transaction that comes with it. To do this effectively, the association recommends two different analyses- including whether a securities transaction includes an investment contract and whether the subject of such a contract is a commodity that can also be sold in a commercial transaction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In addition, the group noted that while digital assets should be given full protection under securities laws, most of the disclosures required by these laws don\u2019t matter much concerning commercial transactions conducted with the assets themselves. It pointed out that not all transactions conducted with digital assets require securities law protections, noting that there are other regulators in the United States apart from the SEC. So, the court should be able to consider multiple regulatory regimes while making its decision on the case.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">In summary, the group explained that not every digital asset is a security just because it is based on blockchain technology. In this case, the GRAM doesn\u2019t entirely fit into the \u201csecurity\u201d moniker.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"fin-excerpt\">The Chamber of Digital Commerce has chimed in on the current legal tussle between the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and mobile messaging <a class=\"read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/insidebitcoins.com\/news\/blockchain-advocacy-group-sides-with-telegram-in-ongoing-sec-row\" title=\"Blockchain Advocacy Group Sides with Telegram in Ongoing SEC Row\u00a0\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1770,"featured_media":247824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7596],"tags":[10222,10223,3943,5660],"class_list":["post-247823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency","tag-laws","tag-new-yorkl","tag-sec","tag-telegram"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.8 (Yoast SEO v23.8) - 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