Telegram vs. The SEC: How Will the TON Delay Affect You?

Today, two investors reported The Telegram Open Network may be delayed up to six months. This comes after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated that the Telegram backed TON Labs has no right no sell it’s GRAM token in the United States. Just as the project planned it’s mainnet launch, TON’s s record-breaking $1.7 billion ICO is now under intense scrutiny. Telegram needs to consider new options to pivot and keep their innovation, and it’s investors money, alive. 

The SEC still thinks crypto is a threat to the economy

As we saw with the SEC’s clash with Mark Zuckerberg’s Libra project. the SEC is consistently “anti-innovation.”  As creative as projects like TON are, they pose a threat to the United States economy, at least in the eyes of the SEC. So Telegram founder Pavel Durov must find a way to work with the U.S and create something mutually beneficial. If not, then he may need to return the funds of U.S investors who purchased 1 billion out of 2.98 billion GRAM tokens sold. 

Does Telegram need the SEC to thrive?

This is the big question on everyone’s mind. Some say The SEC holds the key to mainstream crypto adoption. While the U.S. is certainly a large portion of crypto users, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia are increasingly crypto friendly by the year. Furthermore, the key audience for Telegram is not even located in the U.S. but in Europe, Brazil and Arab countries.

Looking at this chart below, Telegram had roughly 200 million users as of March 18. Now, that number is well over 300 million. With most of these users outside of the U.S., and GRAM being intertwined with Durov’s messaging app, it’s highly likely the network can succeed even without the permission of the SEC. 

The SEC will not effect on your GRAM crypto loans or investment 

Unless you are a U.S. citizen, there is nothing to worry about with your GRAM investment. The SEC cannot fully stop TON from launching. For one, the organization does not have the right tools to really stop the Telegram platform from operation nor the GRAM token from launching. Furthermore, the only weapon they have is large fines and sanctions on Durov and Telegram. However, this is unlikely to have an effect on TON continuing its path.

TON and its GRAM token are one of the most innovative projects we’ve seen in industry history and its launch will bring a wealth of positive benefits to the market. YouHodler is happy to announce we will soon be adding GRAM to our suite of crypto loans. 

In the meantime, we have over 12+ cryptocurrencies to use as collateral for crypto backed loans in addition to margin trading features and crypto savings accounts. So while we all wait for TON to fully launch, let’s be active hodlers and use cryptocurrency loans to our advantage while crypto prices are still cheap. Don’t forget to follow our social media links below for the big news on GRAM tokens and more crypto loan features.