SEC blocks Telegram with its $1.7 Billion token sale

[bgaf]

I totally disagree with this decision SEC always took action very late against big ICOs why not they awake on the right time and now again people will lost their money without getting any refund. This is really unprofessional behavior what happening in this case because SEC has fishy track record.

It is obviously sabotaging the cryptocurrency industry. Knowing Telegram had successfully raised more than what they expected they have been alarmed and try to hampered it. See how they continuously reject the bitcoin etf application?  It is very much obvious, they dont want this kind of industry to prosper.

[cryptothreads]

Why do you think SEC and US government halted big companies that started a big move with cryptocurrency? First, they halted libra and now Telegram, I don't know why US is afraid of cryptocurrency. For sure this will have some massive adoption given it has massive users. Looks like they are halting the next bullrun.

I think this country wants everyone to use USD to trade and don't want this crypto market to interfere with their world. In my opinion, the Telegram project will be successful because this is a project that is not under the control of the United States so even if the SEC does not accept this coin, it will be sold in the near future.

I think this is a project that deserves to be accepted in this market and should not be banned for development because now Telegram is still working very well and is interested by a lot of investors.

[~Money~]

latest telegram reaction shows that they are not gonna leave the project, they will fight back soon

current offer to halt the project temporary means they will start negotiation to be able to have usa-users back in project;
exactly as it was predicted few days back

next step will be getting a license and paying the sec shares to have the free pass

[JollyGood]

The issue of digital token sales and the principle of securities is a well known thing. I think there is fault on both sides. First on the side of the token issuer - they should have obtain approval upfront before starting the token sale. On the side of SEC they should have acted earlier as the risk of funds being lost is higher now.

The main point being why did Telegram go ahead and sell tokens when they did not a deal with the SEC before starting the process of the token sale?

They sold out the tokens in quick time, it was such a short period before they $1.7 billion was raised. They should have at least come to an arrangement with the SEC and their lack of foresight means they will have to face the consequences.

[jostorres]

There has been news for some months now that telegram will be having their token launch and I have also asked people if they are sure that it is actually telegram which was verified, so all these whiles, what have they been doing if they were not ok with the plan? Why do they have to wait till the dyeing minute before they take this action, and also, to be fair to telegram, because I know they are not scam coin, why do they have to block their project also?

The major question now is what they intend doing after they have blocked the project with 1.7 billion dollars, and what exactly would be happening to the money of investors now? Would they be able to refund it because if they don’t, I will just term this as a conspiracy move by both of them to actually dupe people?

[kravas86]

This problem is solvable. But it is possible that the SEC will not approve decentralized cryptocurrencies for a very long time. Now the SEC has started to be more loyal to stablecoins and I think telegram will be fine. We need a little more time. Investors have nothing to fear the project will be implemented in any case. Today's hype around telegram and Libra is a very good catalyst for the cryptocurrency industry.

[beerlover]

The fact that telegram already had a ton of money in their pockets and also they were doing very well as a business as well and decided to do tokens instead of IPO which would mean that people who hold the tokens would have no profit sharing at all and would have no control over the company like a shareholder would meant that telegram would raise as much money or even more money on token sale than a company that does IPO and opens its stocks to public which means shareholders will make profits (dividends or stock price increase) and will have a controlling interest if they end up getting 51%+ of it and can even vote to remove the CEO so they have a decent strength.

SEC made a good decision, token sale is for stuff that needs money to exist and created, not for companies who are already doing well to make even more money just because they can without giving up anything.

[~Money~]

The fact that telegram already had a ton of money in their pockets and also they were doing very well as a business as well and decided to do tokens instead of IPO which would mean that people who hold the tokens would have no profit sharing at all and would have no control over the company like a shareholder would meant that telegram would raise as much money or even more money on token sale than a company that does IPO and opens its stocks to public which means shareholders will make profits (dividends or stock price increase) and will have a controlling interest if they end up getting 51%+ of it and can even vote to remove the CEO so they have a decent strength.

SEC made a good decision, token sale is for stuff that needs money to exist and created, not for companies who are already doing well to make even more money just because they can without giving up anything.

telegram has not started earning from its messenger YET!
we already know they have too many great plans for their platform to make a huge nice money in future, even without the TON

and unfortunately (for those who were happy) we are gonna hear good news in next few days, it seems they are handling the problem with sec very fast and coperation has worked out

get ready for next bump

[X-ray]

So far this is disadvantageous for sec and there can be many reasons for canceling the decision. If you give them a share then everything would be in order, otherwise they will pull the rubber as much as they want. I always keep thinking that crypto is their idea and they will decide how to play on their field.

I don't think that will work. This matter is not as simple as giving a share or maybe what you mean is paying the full taxes from all of the money gathered(?)
The massive amount of money that is raised is whooping $1.7Billion and it's like they are a shining object that could attract attention and waiting for the authority to come after them. Such massive amount will indeed can't be taken lightly and that's probably why SEC is willingly to block the token sale and even worse is the fact that the token is a cryptocurrency which the government is trying to create bias among citizens that it's a bad thing while it is actually not.

[spadormie]

As far as I know, they did not consult with SEC. Maybe because their project doesn't have the capability to be anonymous. I think we just need to wait for SEC's jury with this but, I'm still rooting for their project. TG is a big company with a big community in its platform.

[JollyGood]

The issue of digital token sales and the principle of securities is a well known thing. I think there is fault on both sides. First on the side of the token issuer - they should have obtain approval upfront before starting the token sale. On the side of SEC they should have acted earlier as the risk of funds being lost is higher now.

The SEC was under no obligation to do anything and they used their power to bring matters like this.

Why they decided to flex their muscles in this way against Telegram at this late is not known. Maybe things will be known about their motives in the coming days.

[chanc3r]

The issue of digital token sales and the principle of securities is a well known thing. I think there is fault on both sides. First on the side of the token issuer - they should have obtain approval upfront before starting the token sale. On the side of SEC they should have acted earlier as the risk of funds being lost is higher now.

The SEC was under no obligation to do anything and they used their power to bring matters like this.

Why they decided to flex their muscles in this way against Telegram at this late is not known. Maybe things will be known about their motives in the coming days.

This must be the reason

Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement, explained that the emergency action aims to “prevent Telegram from flooding the U.S. markets with digital tokens that we allege were unlawfully sold”.

https://financefeeds.com/sec-files-emergency-action-telegram-group-alleged-1-7bn-unregistered-digital-token-offering/

SEC is under an obligation to protect the US market and not only US investors.
Telegram has already promised the early investors can sell the billions of TON to the US market. SEC has seen it as a serious problem that will disrupt the US market with the flooding of the TON as an unregistered security. That's actually putting US market into the disaster.

[JollyGood]

This precedent can clearly become a reference point for the future of crypto assets in the United States. So the commission is trying to finally settle all the legal subtleties of the process.
Especially surprising that right at such stage of TON chain development some authorities started discussions about whether Gram Coin is a cryptocurrency or a security paper ?

If it might become a precedent then the SEC are going in very strong and very heavy laying down the law. It might be a future blueprint or it might be something else but they have certainly come out looking better than Telegram. The SEC are holding all the cards and can dictate terms to any company (such as Telegram) that seeks US citizens investment.

[SolarWindMiningCompany]

Did SEC put a permanent stop to the token sale or halted it due to regulation issues? I think if telegram meets required regulatory terms, they will scale through with the token sale. There was so much hype around telegram coin and TON blockchain, I do wish them success based on some features I look up to. If the token sale is permanently stopped, I don't really think it has any major effect on the market. I'm more interested in the TON blockchain than the coin actually.

It can't be a permanent stop but rather a halt. Telegram has probably commenced funded raising through ICO without fulfilling the requirements of the SEC commission. All they have to do is likely, pay the fine for conducting ICO sales outside the ambients of the law, fill the other necessary paper works and then recommence sales. But its up to the Telegram team to do what's best for their project and community anyway

[Patrix_1]

It seems like nobody is really scared of those regulations. According to the last report from ICOdrops, more than 70 percent of all investors agreed to postpone the launch and do not want their money back.

[FLHippy]

They should refund all clients because it seems that Telegram has same problems with SEC like Libra. They can try to launch the project, probably they will only get a fine, but they are also in a risk of a total shutdown.

[~Money~]

It seems like nobody is really scared of those regulations. According to the last report from ICOdrops, more than 70 percent of all investors agreed to postpone the launch and do not want their money back.

when there is nothing to hide, and all the purpose is crystal clear, nobody scares of anything, scare comes to game when you are trying to do sth and want to hide the real purpose and show sth else among followers

They should refund all clients because it seems that Telegram has same problems with SEC like Libra. They can try to launch the project, probably they will only get a fine, but they are also in a risk of a total shutdown.

telegram issue is selling a token without sec approval, but in libra case, there is all different,
somehow the government afraid of losing its power to control the monetary system which will be the terrible nightmare for everyone

[JollyGood]

I think their end game and objective has just become much more plainer: https://www.coindesk.com/sec-cftc-fincen-warn-crypto-industry-to-follow-us-banking-laws
Good ol' US of A retaining it's global, financial dominance and the dollar still reigning supreme. Certainly interesting times ahead for the global financial system, especially with certain states (and even countries - France, Portugal) pro-crypto via Bitcoin

It stands to reason that the SEC take in to account how things will impact the fiat banking system. With so many powerful banking giants having their own lobby groups influencing policy in political circles we should not be surprised by this.

[~Money~]

latest telegram reaction shows that they are not gonna leave the project, they will fight back soon

current offer to halt the project temporary means they will start negotiation to be able to have usa-users back in project;
exactly as it was predicted few days back

next step will be getting a license and paying the sec shares to have the free pass

this is what i was talking about, always moving forward https://wallet.ton.org/
just need to be cautious,
telegram is doing his job to achieve the goal they have and no one can stop them

we will hear more good news in near future

[JollyGood]

latest telegram reaction shows that they are not gonna leave the project, they will fight back soon

current offer to halt the project temporary means they will start negotiation to be able to have usa-users back in project;
exactly as it was predicted few days back

next step will be getting a license and paying the sec shares to have the free pass

this is what i was talking about, always moving forward https://wallet.ton.org/
just need to be cautious,
telegram is doing his job to achieve the goal they have and no one can stop them

we will hear more good news in near future

What concessions will they have to make in order to satisfy what the SEC wants? They can plan and make progress all they want but they should ensure they do not do anything unless they come to a deal with the SEC.

There is no doubt the SEC seem to be over cautious about this token sale but it was never fully understood why no matter what they stated about looking after US citizens and ensuring things happened in a proper legal manner.