TON was considered the next big cryptocurrency project attached to one of the largest messaging apps in the entire world, Telegram. TON was operated by Pavel Durov who was self-exiled from Russia and is now located somewhere between the Caribbean and Dubai.
He commented on his Telegram channel that the 2.5-year blockchain and crypto project is done. Durov’s cryptocurrency lost steam due to a U.S. court. After leaving Russia because the government wanted his encryption keys to his social media firm, it’ s now a done deal.
He commented, technology created an open, free, decentralized exchange of value and ideas. TON was potentially revolutionizing how people store and transfer funds and information. That said, the U.S. court stopped TON from succeeding.
The southern district court in New York ruled that GRAM would not be distributed in the United States. The judge also ruled that citizens could find a way to access the TON platform after the launch but the platform would not be allowed either.
Durov said that if the U.S. decided to ban coffee and that all coffee shops in Italy should be closed because an American citizen might actually visit Italy, we doubt anyone would go along with it.
This has marked the last time for Telegram’s involvement with TON. No member, whether past or present, will be involved with TON projects. Some networks that might be based on technology won’t have any affiliation with Telegram.
While the Securities and Exchange Commission is against cryptocurrencies, Americans are allowed to own them but not be given investor protection.
Back in October, the SEC believed Telegram was going to flood the market with billions of coins using unregistered securities. The SEC added that without a registration statement in place, Telegram’s distribution would violate the federal securities laws. That was the final straw for shutting it down.
Durov said he wished others well trying to start a decentralized money system. This battle is an important one and we hope others succeed where we failed. 342