TON Blockchain Platform from Telegram with GRAM Cryptocurrency

Some history

he authoritative publication TechCrunch informed, the creators of the Telegram messenger plan to launch their own blockchain platform, referring to a number of reliable sources just at the peak of the previous bull market in January 2018.

The original Bitcoin network is the first generation blockchain, Ethereum the second, and the Telegram Open Network should become the third. This generation should become truly revolutionary and breakthrough, meant to bring the cryptocurrency industry to a fundamentally new level. The own cryptocurrency GRAM will work inside TON Telegram.

A month later, these rumors received official confirmation and Pavel Durov held the first closed round of financing, raising 850 million US dollars. According to some reports, one GRAM coin cost was $0.33.

Another round of financing was held a little later, March 2018, and the developers raised the same amount again - 850 million US dollars. But the cost of one token has already grown significantly and amounted to $1.33.

That is, a total of about $1.7 billion was raised for the development of the TON project. It is also important to understand that only large investors had the opportunity to participate in the Telegram ICO since the minimum entry threshold was from 10 to 20 million US dollars according to various sources.

Brief technical information about the TON blockchain platform

So, the developers of the Telegram Open Network want to create a fast, secure, decentralized and at the same time scalable blockchain with a throughput of millions of transactions per second. This blockchain network will be not only for ordinary users - it will be a good tool for various suppliers of goods and services. In other words, TON is a huge distributed supercomputer, but rather a “super server” where a huge number of services can work at the same time:

• TON Blockchain - the core of the system itself, which can process millions of transactions per second. The original Bitcoin network can confirm no more than 7 transactions at the same time, for comparison.
• TON Proxy - own proxy server, as well as an anonymizer. Using this service, you can bypass censorship of any country in the world, remaining incognito.
  
• TON P2P Network is a peer-to-peer network organization that consists of TON customers.
  
• TON DHT is a system for searching various objects by hash codes, which works according to the P2P principle, as in torrent trackers.
  
• TON DNS is a special algorithm used to find hash codes in TON DHT using the simple language.
  
• TON Storage is a hybrid (centralized and decentralized) file storage system.
  
• TON Virtual Machine is a virtual machine responsible for the correct performance of contracts between sellers and buyers.
  
• TON Messages is a system that allows not only living people but also algorithms to communicate.
  
• TON Payments is the payment system itself, made for high loads and the performance of many micropayments at the same time.
  
• TON Validators are network users who are responsible for the correct operation of the system and transaction confirmation.
  
• TON Hypercube Routing - TON P2P Network optimal path calculation system for messages between nodes.
  
• TON Services is a platform where you can create your own decentralized applications that will run in the TON ecosystem.
  

On the basis of the foregoing, we can conclude that the TON Telegram network is more than just another blockchain, the project of Pavel Durov is Internet 2.0. And the most interesting thing is that all these services will be integrated into the popular Telegram messenger and will be very simple and clear to use.

According to experts, the Telegram messenger has long been a communication channel for participants in the cryptocurrency community, so the project has no problems with the target audience.

How to store confidential information securely? Learn more about Telegram Passport

TON GRAM developers created their own service for storing confidential information of ecosystem participants in 2018 - Telegram Passport, which is necessary to identify users. To start using this service, you will only need to upload any documents that can confirm your identity to your Telegram messenger: passport (both domestic and foreign), driver’s license, utility bills, bank statements, and additional photos.

After that, Telegram will be able to transfer this data to partner services, which require verification. Telegram developers assure that this service is absolutely safe, and only users will have access to their confidential information. This data will be stored in encrypted form, and it will only be possible to unlock passing the two-factor verification. Telegram employees will not be able to view user personal information.

Besides messenger users will be able to use the services of several partners through Telegram Passport. According to unconfirmed information, the Qiwi payment system has gained access to this Telegram technology. It would be nice if the verification procedure in Qiwi could be done in two clicks. Such an opportunity would be especially relevant for non-residents of the Russian Federation since the verification process in Qiwi is quite lengthy for them.

Who was forbidden to participate in the TON Telegram ICO?

Аs we said before, only large investors had the opportunity to take part in closed rounds of financing ICO Telegram. The developers refused to all investors who for various reasons fell under the international sanctions of the United States, Britain, the European Union, and the UN Security Council. This prohibition applies to the next of kin of these individuals.

All people who are residents or live in sanctioned territories were forbidden to participate in the Telegram ICO. At the time of the closed rounds of financing, this list included Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Crimea.

To identify clients and protect from criminal activity, all investors went through the KYC procedure (know your client). Also, the Telegram agreement with investors states that the buyer of GRAM tokens has no right to use these digital assets with a goal to violate the sanctions regime, money laundering, or financing terrorism. But it is worth remarking that the developers of Telegram did not mention whether they will track suspicious activity or not.

Litigation with the SEC

The creators of the project set a deadline for themselves, so the Telegram Open Network blockchain platform was supposed to start work no later than October 31, 2019. Everything seemed to go according to plan, but the US Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Telegram inc on Friday, October 11 - 20 days before the deadline. The Manhattan District Court issued a temporary ban on the distribution of GRAM tokens in the United States.

According to SEC experts, the GRAM cryptocurrency is a security, which means that its creators had to register it properly. And since they did not, they violated the “Securities Act of 1933”. This circumstance has changed the plans of the TON Telegram creators.

Why does the SEC consider GRAM securities?

The Securities and Exchange Commission classified digital tokens as “non-securities” only a few times over the entire existence of the cryptocurrency market. Recall that in February 2019 SEC spokeswoman Hester Peirce said that digital coins can not be considered securities only if they are not sold as investment contracts. The U.S. Chief Financial Regulator requires:

• recognize Telegram tokens as securities;
• return funds to investors;
  
• provide all reporting documentation to the US Securities and Exchange Commission;
  
• pay fines and penalties to investors.
  

Telegram Team Answer

In a letter to investors, TON developers said that the team was surprised and disappointed by the actions of the SEC, also expressing their disagreement with the regulator. Now Telegram lawyers are looking for ways to solve the problem, taking into account the interests of all parties relevant to it.

How bad is this?

Everything is not so bad by and large as it might seem at first glance. The fact is that the charge of violating the Law on Securities of 1933 is only a suspicion of a possible violation. SEC employees often resort to this scenario if they want to understand the issue in more detail.

As we see, the developers of TON Telegram accommodated the financial regulator and postponed the launch of their blockchain platform until April 30, 2020. During this time, they must solve all legal issues with the SEC, as well as make the latest improvements to the system. Do not forget that the trial with the SEC is a real information bomb, which positively affects the popularization of Telegram.

Conclusion

The TON Telegram platform is a third-generation blockchain that will process millions of transactions per second. With the help of the GRAM cryptocurrency, people around the world will be able to join the digital economy. But as of the time of writing this article, no one in the world has been able to “touch” neither the TON blockchain platform nor even the GRAM token yet.

We will closely follow the developments of the conflict between the US Securities and Exchange Commission and Telegram and inform you of the latest and current information. Subscribe to our social networks and stay tuned for updates on our website not to miss the news.