Saad Ullah
Countering SEC
Telegram Open Network, or TON, is a blockchain ecosystem that will be using its native cryptocurrency, Gram for payment purposes. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had stepped in at the last minute on October 11 and ordered Telegram to stop Gram and TON launch, which as only a few weeks away. In response to that order, Telegram requested a denial of the order through a court. This in turn let the SEC give a preliminary injunction.
The fight has not been taken to the courts and according to the latest; the case hearing has been set to the next year,
IT IS ORDERED that Defendants shall not offer, sell, deliver, or distribute “Grams” to any person or entity, until the conclusion of the hearing scheduled by the Court for February 18 and 19, 2020 (“Hearing”), except upon further order of the Court or agreement of the parties. At the Hearing, any party may move the Court for the continuation or dissolution of this Order.
Telegram intended to continue on with its Gram sales and working as if there was no restraining order, but the postponement by the courts explicitly state that Telegram cannot continue its token sales until the matter is resolved in their favor.
Shaky Start
According to Telegram, the last minute order by SEC is an emergency that it has made up. It said it had cooperated with the SEC, providing documentation and coordinating with the regulators for months. If there were any issues, SEC should not have waited till the last moment,
Telegram produced to the SEC thousands of pages of documents and communications with U.S. purchasers; submitted five detailed legal memoranda regarding the securities question at issue; participated in three in-person presentations during which it answered hundreds of questions and requested feedback; regularly engaged in email and telephone discussions regarding a wide range of topics relating to the TON Blockchain and Grams; and made modifications to the technology and operation of the TON Blockchain in response to the SEC’s stated concerns.
Another issue that has seems to shake investors is a force majeure clause in the TON agreement. Under it, the company is not liable to return the investment in case of any action by God, natural disasters or any governmental interference. The authority clause has been making rounds in the news lately and speculations have risen that in case the TON and Gram are stopped by the courts, the investors may lose their money.
That scenario is most unlikely though. The force majeure doesn’t apply if the TON network is not launched by the end of this month.
Saad Ullah
