Social media giant, Telegram, has offered to pay back its investors 110% of their investments after the Gram token launch failed again.
Investors to Choose 110% or 72% Repayment
Telegram has failed in its launch of the Gram token as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dragged the matter to court several times, claiming that the cryptocurrency is a security issued by the social media giant. The failed cryptocurrency launch bid by Telegram has seen the company decide to cut its losses and refund its investors.
However, Telegram is offering investors two payment options. Investors will receive 72% of their stakes immediately if they decide, or they can wait another year and receive up to 110% back on their investment. The second option would not be totally cash as investors would be paid in another cryptocurrency in the Telegram messaging application, with an extra 10% bonus to their investment.
Telegram raised $1.7 billion during its ICO (initial coin offering) in 2018, which was one of the most significant the crypto sector has seen. Back then, Telegram took an undertaking stating that the cryptocurrency would be available to investors in the third quarter of 2019, or they would get their money back. The latest deadline for the launch of their Telegram Open Network (TON), the decentralized network supporting Gram, was yesterday, April 30.
However, since the company’s ICO in 2018, they have been facing a massive legal battle. The SEC is seeking for the Gram project to be stopped entirely as they believed illegal activities are happening by the Telegram development team.
Failure to Launch
In a letter posted to TON investors on a Russian platform, Telegram announced its inability to meet with its promise as of the deadline date. The company stated in the letter that sadly, the recent U.S district decision makes it impossible for them to issue Gram tokens to investors by April 30, which was the deadline date. The decisions by various courts make it impossible for the company to issue its digital asset or launch the underlying TON blockchain.
Telegram has now suggested paying more to investors, either in cash, stock, or a different cryptocurrency. However, the investors have to agree to loan their existing investment to Telegram until this time next year. The social media giant noted that as a token of its appreciation for their trust in the TON network, they are offering investors an alternative option to receive up to 110% of their original investment, which would mature by April 30, 2022. This is 53% above the Termination Amount, the company added.
Investors have been given until the end of this week to decide the payment options they wish to accept. The platform, which is one of the most widely used social media apps in the world, allows users to send encrypted messages with ease. At the moment, Telegram has over 400 million active users per month, with around 1.5 million people joining the platform every day. With the Gram token, Telegram is creating a cryptocurrency that makes it possible and easy to buy and sell goods on the social media platform. It will be interesting to watch if the subsequent legal battle between Telegram and the U.S SEC ends.