Telegram GRAM vs Facebook Libra: comparison and chances of success  

Notice, GRAM has not been released yet, as well as Libra, thus, some of its members already have doubts about the launch. Today we decided to compare these two grandiose projects and analyze, which of them has more chances for success.

What is TON?

Within this article, we will not analyze all aspects of Telegram Open Network, because you can find a detailed article on this topic on our website. Now we will just briefly go through its main features. 

Thus, Telegram ICO was held in March 2018. The creators of this project managed to attract $1.7 billion during two rounds of financing. There was a clearly indicated deadline for this project — October 31, 2019. If the developers do not launch TON blockchain and GRAM cryptocurrency until the aforementioned date, they will have to return investors money.

There are no actual data about the number of active Telegram users. It reached the mark of 200 million people in March, 2018. Pavel Durov announced that the messenger added 3 million new users in 24 hours on March 14, 2019. Nowadays it is difficult to name the exact number of Telegram users, as company representatives don`t tell about it. Thus, highly likely, this number did not change a lot since March, 2018.

GRAM is a cryptocurrency, which will work on TON blockchain. Telegram specialists are engaged in its development. Its main feature is a huge bandwidth, which amounts a few million transactions per second. A wallet for storing coins will be integrated right into Telegram messenger. It will make it easy to work with GRAM, and it will positively affect on popularization of cryptocurrencies.

What is Libra?

Notice, you can read a detailed article on this topic on our website. That's why we will briefly observe the main features of Facebook project.

The main Libra features 

• Libra is a stable digital coin, which will be based on its own blockchain platform Libra Network. It is developed by specialists of many companies, which are Libra consortium members.
• Libra will be supported by physical assets, thus, its rate will not be subject to volatility.
  
• Libra Network will be based on Proof-of-Stake protocol, and the financial infrastructure will rely on BFT algorithm. Moreover, smart contracts will be available on the network after the change from permissioned blockchain to the open one.
  
• The project will be fully integrated into Facebook, which includes Messenger, WhatsApp, Instagram and the social network as well. All of these products have a common user base, which amounts 2.4 billion people. That's why the successful launch of this project will have a huge impact on the global financial system.
  

Differences between GRAM and Libra

Let's take a closer look at the significant differences between the two projects and find out what is the fundamental difference.

Pricing

First of all, Facebook cryptocurrency is a stablecoin, thus, its rate will be provided with real assets, such as various fiat currencies and government bonds. As for Telegram's cryptocurrency, it will depend on volatility, like lots of other cryptocurrencies. Therefore, GRAM is proper for investment, Libra is not.

Relations with regulators

Durov brothers originally did not plan to establish relations with state structures. TON project is intended to bypass any locks and to work ‘outside the system’, unlike Libra — its creators are actively engaged in dealing with government authorities.

Zuckerberg and his team have not succeeded yet, but they are very serious and are not going to give up. Financial regulators of the world's leading countries are rather skeptical about this project. Furthermore, EU governments even called it ‘a threat to state sovereignty’.

Anonymity

TON developers focus on users' anonymity. Telegram Passport will be integrated into the architecture of future blockchain platform, where the personal data, requested by third-party sites during authorization, will be stored. But, as the developers assure, confidential information will be in encrypted form and only users will have access, so you will need to identify it for any operation. It is necessary to achieve the balance between privacy and the prevention of criminal activity.

Unlike GRAM, Libra developers did not promise to ensure anonymity. As you know, Facebook services store much more information about users than any other financial institution.

Financing

Projects have different principles for attracting financing, but they are both closed to small and medium investors. Each consortium participant invest 10 million US dollars in the development of Libra.

The creators of Gram chose an ordinary way - they carried an ICO. However, it didn’t get to the public offering - all the assets available for sale were bought up in two closed pre-ICO rounds. According to various sources, the minimum participation cost from 10 to 20 million US dollars, and according to unconfirmed information, the price was set individually.

Therefore, the Telegram cryptocurrency will be decentralized, and Libra will be in the hands of the association, which already cancels its independence.

Philosophy

If Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency is launched, it will be a global payment system and nothing more. Its scale will be amazing and it will be very convenient for all Facebook users. The successful launch of the Libra cryptocurrency can significantly change the global financial system.

TON and GRAM from the Durov brothers are more than just a payment system. Based on the Telegram Open Network, it will be possible to create websites, applications, exchange content, store data, buy and sell various goods and services.  It sounds like TON is a separate alternative non-blocking Internet.

Stage of development

As of this writing, neither GRAM nor Libra is not yet ready, but Pavel Durov`s project is in on its final stages of development. Programmers are already actively testing the corporate wallet, and early investors have already received special software for generating private and public keys.

TON launch should take place in a few weeks, the first Libra tests should begin only at the end of this year. Mark Zuckerberg promised to launch Libra in the first quarter of 2020, although given the problems with financial regulators and the recent PayPal drop of the consortium, it is hard to believe the project will be launched till the deadline.

Decentralization

According to the Libra creators plans, 100 nodes, that is, 100 partners will be responsible for the network's operability, each of them will have no more than 1% of the votes. Initially, the Libra Network cannot be called completely decentralized, but the project’s white paper says that developers will gradually transfer the reins to the community, that is, “independent” validators, which total number will not exceed 20%. The estimated annualized cost of maintaining the node is about 280 thousand US dollars, it means that Libra will be controlled by a large business.

It is important to understand that TON does not have any mechanism that could limit the role of independent validators. Therefore, the decentralization of the network will be achieved mathematically, and not by the decision of TON Foundation.

Chances for the success of GRAM and Libra

Although both projects are surely grandiose on a global scale, most experts are more confident in GRAM success. The thing is not in the resources of companies but in their reputation. It's no secret that Facebook has repeatedly cooperated with law enforcement agencies sharing users` confidential information. Besides, the company of Mark Zuckerberg was involved in more than one scandal over the leak of users` personal data. Therefore, confidentiality and anonymity should not be expected, when it comes to Libra cryptocurrency.

Pavel Durov has a completely different reputation. He was ready to sacrifice his business and lose millions of dollars every day for the sake of Telegram users' privacy. We all remember his loud conflict with Roskomnadzor, which ended with the blocking of a messenger on the territory of the Russian Federation. By the way, at the moment Telegram is officially blocked in China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and the Russian Federation. But even these restrictions did not force developers to give personal information about their users, stored in Telegram Passport.

The creator of VKontakte and Telegram is so highly respected that makes his project more attractive to many users. Amidst Facebook`s damaged reputation, Telegram looks more advantageous and it is already obvious today that the GRAM cryptocurrency will be more loyal to its customers than Libra.

Investors are much more interested in GRAM since its rate will depend on volatility after the official launch of TON. It means that this cryptocurrency can be regarded as an investment asset, the same cannot be said of Libra.

However, Facebook cryptocurrency worth attention, as Mark Zuckerberg Corporation has huge resources that are simply inaccessible to TON and GRAM. And given the persistence of Facebook developers, it seems like they are very serious to reach their goal.

In conclusion

These are two completely different projects with a different philosophy, an approach and a working principle. Blockchain technology and the desire to make their own cryptocurrency accessible to anyone who has a smartphone — are things they have in common. They are not competitors, but together they play a huge role in popularizing the digital economy, for which they must be paid tribute.

In any case, the rest of 2019 and the next 2020 year will be very saturated for the whole cryptocurrency industry. If you do not want to miss important and useful information from the world of the digital economy, sign up for us on social networks and follow the news on our website.