Telegram renounces Its blockchain platform TON.
Messaging service Telegram has renounced its blockchain platform Telegram Open Network (TON).
This comes after a lengthy battle with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The founder and Chief Executive, Pavel Durov wrote on his channel, “Today is a sad day for us here at Telegram. We are announcing the discontinuation of our blockchain project.”
The A U.S. court did not permit the messaging service, used by more than 400 million users, to move on with the development of Telegram Open Network.
“How? Imagine that several people put their money together to build a gold mine and to later split the gold that comes out of it. Then a judge comes and says: ‘These people invested in the gold mine because they were looking for profits. And they didn’t want that gold for themselves, they wanted to sell it to other people. Because of this, they are not allowed to get the gold”, Durov wrote.
The Court’s pronouncement comes as a hard blow since Telegram assured people last month that it will launch TON by April 2021. It also offered investors a significant part of their investment of $1.2 billion.
The U.S. court declared that Grams could not be supplied outside the United States, as U.S. citizens would have found workarounds to access the TON platform.
“Sadly, the US judge is right about one thing: we, the people outside the US, can vote for our presidents and elect our parliaments, but we are still dependent on the United States when it comes to finance and technology,” Durov further stated.
In March, the U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of Manhattan issued a preliminary injunction in favor of the suit by the Securities and Exchange Commission to prohibit the launch of TON blockchain platform.
“I want to conclude this post by wishing luck to all those striving for decentralization, balance, and equality in the world. You are fighting the right battle. This battle may well be the most important battle of our generation. We hope that you succeed where we have failed,” Durov said.
The CEO further warned people to flee from independent versions of TON built by third-party entities.
“So be careful, and don’t let anyone mislead you.”
Telegram first proposed the idea of TON blockchain and its cryptocurrency to investors in 2017. Benchmark and Lightspeed Capital and other Russian investors committed a total of $1.7 billion in exchange for the promise of future Grams.