A week ago, someone from a Russian blockchain infrastructure company contacted me. “Did you hear?” she said. “Telegram is doing an initial coin offering (ICO) in the fourth quarter.” She sent me the link to some random website I’ve never heard of in Russian. I had to translate it. It was a mess. I gave up.
I asked a friend in San Francisco who is totally plugged into the Russian crypto scene. She said they are working on the terms of the pre-ICO sale. She showed me some notes published on Yoken, a subscriber-based tips and information service available on the Telegram app under the account name @Yoken. It has only 201 subscribers. The news: Russian-born developer Pavel Durov is looking to raise a massive $1.2 billion in what would be the mother of all ICOs if he pulled it off. Last year’s largest ICO was Filecoin. It raised around $252 million, according to the data storage company founded by Juan Benet of Palo Alto.
Telegram would use the money to create a blockchain payments system called the Telegram Open Network, or TON (which would probably be the ticker of its cryptocurrency). Last month, a Russian Youtube channel called DeCenter ran a video that looked like it came from Telegram, complete with the paper airplane logo. Less than 7,000 people watched it.
Nearly three weeks later, TechCrunch writes about the pending ICO on Monday. And on Tuesday, at least two cryptocurrency news and information sites published a first look at the leaked TON whitepaper. Durov did not yet respond to requests for comment. His Telegram channel, @durov, has made no mention of TON. His last post was Dec. 31.
Durov created Telegram as a sort of spin-off from his Russian social media site VKontakte, known simply as VK. He and other founders caught the ire of the Kremlin for advertising protests organized by Vladimir Putin gadfly Alexey Navalny on VK. He has lived here and there and everywhere, except in Russia, since 2014. Telegram’s corporate offices are in Dubai, a favorite warm weather destination for Russian tourists.
Telegram has grown in prominence over the years and has become somewhat of the messenger of choice within the crypto world.
Telegram’s open network system would be a blockchain-based payments system using its own cryptocurrency. If the ICO happens, regardless of price, it would be the biggest, brand-named ICO since the craze began in 2013 and exploded last year as an alternative to traditional startup fundraising via venture capital. Startups issue their own coins, leading to new bitcoin rivals like Cardano and Ripple coin. A move by Telegram could lead other established players to test ICOs as fundraising mechanisms as well this year. ICOs have been a speculators dream, with millions of dollars being put to work by retail investors and seasoned pros in startup cryptos in hopes to capture the next 3,000% upside. Investments in cryptocurrencies are not easy to fulfill. Exchanges are often overburdened with orders, taking weeks to fulfill them. Some investors have been scammed. But a name like Telegram should keep investors interested. This is a bonafide company, with a track record, and a known CEO in tech circles worldwide.
Polynom Crypto Capital founder Alexey Ivanov said he is considering investing if TON hits the market. “This is a very lucrative proposal,” he says. “Some terms (of the deal) may stop us from investing, but we are sure Telegram will be successful at it and you could see a return of more than five times the ICO price.”
A $15 investment in Bitcoin in December 2012 is worth $14,771 as of January 9.
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