Telegram Charged with A $18.5 Million Fine As TON Comes to an End

Published by Shannen Syed Saturday, June 27, 2020

Telegram messaging service is coming to an end with an $18.5 million civil penalty along with a $1.2 billion return to investors for paying for its TON digital token. 

The company remained in a legal battle with its regulator for months which has finally come to an end with this settlement. Last year in October the  United States Securities and Exchange Commission SEC filed a complaint against Telegram for having raised its capital through 2.9 billion for its business. A preliminary injunction was issued to the company by a U.S District Court in March. Last month, Telegram announced that it is abandoning TON.

“We look forward to continuing to pursue our other projects and avenues for innovation,” he added, “and we hope the regulatory environment for blockchain technology in the US becomes more favorable for others in the future,” said Telegram's CEO Pavel Durov.

The regulator has alleged Telegram for not abiding the rules. If Telegram had collaborated with the regulator, the situation might have been different, said the SEC.

Telegram may have dissolved TON and come to terms with the settlement but with external contributors, various organizations like the NewTON and FreeTON aim to revive the network in the upcoming days.