A majority of investors from both rounds of financing of the blockchain-powered Telegram Open Network (TON) project have opted not to take refunds from the company.
During the two rounds of financing, Telegram gathered $1.7 billion ($850 million from each round). TON was due for opening on 31st October but after a court ruling, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) obtained a temporary injunction against Telegram Group Inc. and its subsidiary TON Issuer Inc., attempting to halt the launch of the blockchain-based platform and the sale of the Gram tokens. The order had obiously disrupted the launch of TON.
Subsequently, a letter to TON’s investors was issued which asked to vote on whether they wanted to keep the initial agreement intact and not ask for refunds or they would wait for the launch of the platform in April 2020. A deadline of 31st October was set after which the agreement of the first two rounds of financing would automatically expire and the company’s investors would be handed back their investments.
Most of the investors refused to take refunds. A notification email was sent to a group of investors which confirmed the majority vote support and thanked investors for keeping faith in the company and allowing the company an extension of almost 6 months during which the company will focus on getting the regulatory work done.
After having secured the support of the investors, Telegram will be able to spend $85 million from the $1.7 billion pool of investment ahead of the April 30 launch.
February Hearing to Decide if Gram Token Is a Security
For now, Telegram faces another court hearing that is scheduled for February 18-19. The court hearing centers around the debate whether the digital currency offered by the company Gram is a security or not. With regards to this hearing, Telegram issued another letter to its investors and informed them about the imminent meeting.
“The February hearings are different from those scheduled for October 24, because they will only consider the possible postponement of the launch of the platform,” Telegram said in the letter. Telegram assured investors that the company and their legal aides will use the time to make sure that Telegram’s arguments are well presented.
Earlier this month, rumors that circulated have stressed that Telegram may not uphold its pledge to return the invested funds back to its investors in case of a delay. The rumors mostly cited a clause in the agreement between Telegram and the investors which stated that this scenario may take place in case of an unforeseeable event, such as a natural disaster or an intercession by a regulatory authority.
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