Telegram spent $405 million from the $1.7 billion token sale proceeds developing both TON blockchain and its messaging app, but those expenditures brought zero value to the investors, said Vladimir Smerkis, head of crypto startup Tokenbox and one of the investors.
Smerkis said, “We are considering filing a lawsuit, as the money [Telegram CEO] Pavel Durov spent on the project got investors nothing, while at least, it would be fair to talk about getting Telegram’s equity, for example.”
According to Smerkis, about a half of the investors might be considering lawsuits at the moment, and about half as many will actually do it. Three other individuals who did not wish to be named, including another investor in TON and two funds who consulted with such investors, said potential litigation is being actively discussed. Investors in the U.S., Europe and Russia are now discussing these potential lawsuits, he said.
“Many people are upset that the project is over. Knowing Durov’s business acumen, we hoped he would fight for the existence of TON, but apparently the risks he faced exceeded the upside he could get if the project was launched,” Smerkis expressed. “On the conference calls with other investors, I can see that people are unhappy and are planning to get their money back and later sue in order to either get more money back or some of [Telegram’s] assets,” Smerkis said.
[image: Flickr]
