Privacy focused messaging platform, Telegram, have been planning the release of their Telegram Open Network (TON) blockchain for some time.

I remember the swathes of scams which proceeded its initial announcement back in 2018. Everybody involved in the cryptocurrency universe wanted to get a piece of the action, prompting the usual round of dodgy emails.

Much to the dismay of potential retail investors, Telegram opted to conduct a private investment round. During said investment round the company only allowed large investments from accredited investors.

They eventually concluded their investment round with a total haul of over $1.7 billion USD. This made the TON ICO one of the most successful, ever.

So What is Happening Now?

You would be forgiven for wondering what the latest announcement is about. Let’s face it, Telegram had their ICO and it was successful.

It turns out that the latest ‘token sale’ could well be no more than a whale taking the opportunity to cash in on their investment.

According to an official press release the latest round of investment is being held by Gram Asia.

Gram Asia is the largest holder of GRAM tokens in the asian continent, however they are not officially affiliated with the Telegram company. They simply bought a significant portion of tokens when they had the chance.

They have teamed up with Liquid.com, a cryptocurrency exchange, to enable retail users to part take in their token offering.

According to the official press release Liquid.com will have “TON-compatible wallets” accessible on their platform, even though the TON blockchain isn’t scheduled for release until later this year. It is due for public release in October 2019.

Treat it With Caution

As with allit is wise to proceed with caution. However, the fact that a large investor is offloading before the project is even released is concerning.

For me it raises more questions that answers. Why, if you made such a significant investment, would you decide to lower your stake in a project which is due to go live in a matter of months?

Surely it would be more financially rewarding to hold onto your tokens until the launch of the TON public blockchain.

It begs the question of whether Gram Asia have any insider knowledge which they are acting upon. It also worth noting that, in this token sale, users are not dealing directly with the company who created the tokens. They are buying tokens for a network which does not exist, from a third party.

Maybe their plan was to employ the Eric Cartman technique.

For those who do not watch South Park, the Eric Cartman technique is a method of increasing sales. It generally means you increase interest in your product by refusing to allow the public to access it for a period of time.

One saving grace for anyone interested in buying some GRAM tokens comes in the form of a promise from Liquid.com. They have agreed to refund any investments made in the event that the blockchain does not go live.

Love, peace and happiness.