Telegram Could Postpone Crypto Issuance After US Halts Token Sale

Telegram could delay the original plan of issuing its own cryptocurrency on the Telegram Open Network by Oct. 31 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered it to halt the allegedly "unlawful" token sale in the country.

According to a report from Bloomberg on Monday, Telegram sent a note to investors saying it is considering ways to resolve the temporary restraining order from the SEC , including the possibility of postponing the issuance after the Oct. 31 deadline.

The SEC said on Friday last week that it filed for and obtained an emergency action and restraining order halting Telegram from selling or distributing its gram tokens in the U.S.

The agency said Telegram sold 2.9 billion gram tokens worldwide, with more than 1 billion to U.S. investors allegedly without registering the offering with the securities regulator.

CoinDesk reported previously that Telegram targeted to launch the network's mainnet before Oct. 31 and the technology development was still on track to meet the deadline earlier this month.

Telegram said in the latest note to its investors that it has been having discussions with the SEC for more than a year regarding the TON project. “We were surprised and disappointed that the SEC chose to file the lawsuit under these circumstances,” the letter added.

Telegram image via Shutterstock