The SEC has delayed Telegram’s hearing for February next year. Investors preferred to accept the new issuance date of Gram tokens.
Telegram blockchain investors have chosen to remain in the project despite the recent requirement presented by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against the offer of Gram tokens by the messaging platform.
Both groups of investors, who provided USD 1.7 billion in two funding rounds, agreed to accept delays to the launch of Telegram Open Network (TON), after the October 23rd deadline, according to a Russian news medium.
Through an e-mail message, Telegram told the investors that they were pleased to share with them the consent of a significant majority of investors, both at the pre-sale viewing and at the stage to delay launching the network on April 30th, 2020. They said that the extension would allow them to proceed with the necessary regulatory work.
Telegram’s offer to accept the delay was initially suggested to TON investors a week after the issuance of the SEC’s order on October 11th, where it was established that the Gram token is a security.
Under the terms of the agreement, most ICO investors would agree on the need to delay the token issuance date, or receive 77% of their investment back. Each cohort of investors would have to accept these terms, which means that one of the groups could get a refund while the other would keep the investment under the promise of receiving Gram tokens. The token issuance has now been scheduled for April 30th, 2020.
One of TON’s investors told the media, under terms of anonymity, that they had voted to wait, although they were sure that Telegram would not be able to resolve things with the SEC.
He predicted that TON will be launched, but that it will lose the fight against regulators and, as a result, it will lose large markets such as the United States, Russia, China, and possibly some European countries. However, being an investor who bought Gram tokens at a price of 37 cents per token, he still hopes to generate money from this investment.
He also said that there is a possibility that they will get more than they would receive if Telegram had returned the investments. He noted that they had not really invested too much money, after all.
The terms of the agreement also include that Telegram may spend another USD 80 million of the ICO funds. According to the company, the seventh monthly period will be used to further develop the TON ecosystem.
The Court hearing of October 24th to address the issue of whether or not the Telegram Gram token is a security was also delayed until February 18th or 19th 2020. In a letter sent to the investors, dated October 21st, Telegram described the hearing delay as a positive development that would give it time to prepare its case.
They explained that February hearings are different from those hearings initially scheduled for October 24th, since these should only consider the possible delay to the launch of the platform. Both the company and its advisors will use the time to ensure that, in the hearing of February, Telegram’s position is presented and supported as well as possible.
By Willmen Blanco
