Telegram Founder Pavel Durov has rejected its blockchain project called Telegram Open Network (TON) after a battle with U.S. legal authorities.
The blockchain project and cryptocurrency raised about $1.7 billion from investors in 2018
Telegram had been working for more than two years on a blockchain platform called TON and a cryptocurrency to be named Gram, much like bitcoin and ethereum, but with loftier goals.
In March, a U.S. judge affirmed the SEC decision and ruled that the Gram token couldn't be distributed not only in the United States, but also globally.
"Unfortunately, a U.S. court stopped TON from happening. 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," said Durov.
"Then a judge comes and tells the mine builders: 'Many 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, you are not allowed to give them the gold.'"
Durov pointed out that people outside the United States are still dependent on the world's largest economy when it comes to finance and technology.
Sad to hear about ton. Thanks for explaining this information to us.