Amid a setback from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Telegram now wants to push the launch of its TON Blockchain project from October 30, 2019, to April 30, 2020.
As reported by Coindesk on Wednesday, the messaging platform is sending emails to the investors of Gram tokens, seeking their permission to push the launch date.
In the original Whitepaper , the company assured that it would launch its platform and deliver Gram tokens to the investors before October 30, else it will refund the investors.
The project raised $1.7 million in two consecutive privately-held $850 million token sales round in February and March last year, respectively.
A sudden blow from the US regulator
Although the company was set to launch its blockchain before the set deadline, a restraining order obtained by the SEC to halt the launch has created problems for the company. The regulator is alleging that the company sold unregistered securities in the form of its Gram token.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury also initiated a probe against the messaging company for its involvement in money laundering.
EXCLUSIVE: @telegram claims U.S. Treasury probing company for money laundering ahead of TON launch, sources say.
Watch exclusive reporting: https://t.co/930qUL8ZVU pic.twitter.com/cb7KsFgl2o — BLOCKTV (@BLOCKTVnews) October 15, 2019
“We had intended to launch the TON network in late October. However, the recent SEC lawsuit has made that timing unachievable. We disagree with the SEC’s legal position and intend to vigorously defend the lawsuit. We are proposing to extend the deadline date in order to provide additional time to resolve the SEC’s lawsuit and work with other governmental authorities in advance of the launch of the TON network,” the email to the Gram investors stated.
Telegram is seeking separate approval from its two batches of investors. In case of any disparity in the decision of the two groups, the company is proposing “to make certain limited amendments to the terms of the purchase agreements that remain in place to reflect the fact that fewer Grams will be issued and in circulation on the Network Launch Date.”
In addition, if the majority of the investors in the second round failed to sign a form approving the extension of the launch before October 23, the investors will receive “approximately 77” percent of their investment value.
On a positive note, the company pointed out that an extension of the deadline will give third-party developers more time to work on the applications on TON.
