Crypto News: Telegram Launches New ICO Called TON Token!

Telegram is one of the most popular chat apps I know of. For cryptocurrency group chat I know of none better. I remember learning about it almost a year ago and since I've joined I've found it extremely useful. I'm a member of several trading groups and also get notifications from McAffee pump bot and others that provide signals I've found to be interesting.

This is why I'm confident that the telegram ICO will be a huge success, no matter how much fud is thrown around. In this article I'll discuss the ICO in more detail and why people should consider investing in it or watching it when it hits exchanges with the possibility of filling a bag!

Some of the most prominent investors in cryptocurrency are passing on a much-hyped initial coin offering hosted by the messaging app Telegram, while the venture firms that have largely missed out are preparing to invest.

From the sounds of this, it seems like a lot of people are on the fence about what to do in regard to this ICO. To me the name alone 'Telegram' and knowing its associated with the popular chat app is enough to give it a solid shot at gaining traction in the world of cryptocurrencies.

That role reversal is crystallizing ahead of a deadline to decide whether to participate in the $1.2 billion project. The venture firms that have been among the most aggressive in the burgeoning cryptocurrency sector — Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and Bessemer Venture Partners — are all expected not to invest in the upcoming ICO, according to sources familiar with their plans.

If the big fish don't invest I would say it may actually be good for the coin in the long run. Cryptocurrencies thrive on decentralization and the less that whales control the swings up and down of any coin, the better its chances for success are assuming that the project is sound and the team is solid.

This ICO, however, is attracting a range of U.S. investors who see the deal as less of an investment in cryptocurrency and more as another investment in a promising consumer product. Several major players in Silicon Valley who are newer to cryptocurrencies are investing: Benchmark, Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and the investor Yuri Milner, in his personal capacity, according to people briefed on their plans.

These are some big names. Big enough to inspire confidence in normal everyday investors. When I hear a name like Sequoia Capital being thrown around I know instantly that this is something that has a lot of promise at bare minimum!

Outside investors are being asked to contribute about $20 million in the pre-sale period of the ICO offered by Telegram, the encrypted social messaging app that is hugely popular overseas. The $1.2 billion made in the ICO would allow Telegram to build and support a payment system on its platform.

This is a huge deal. Integrating cryptocurrency payments into telegram, such a simple but elegant use case they have here! Also projects that make $1.2 Billion from ICO generally have enough to support a long development cycle so I'd imagine they will be competitive for years and even decades to come after putting their hands on such a large war chest!

The Telegram Open Network offering would put the currency before the app’s 180 million monthly active users.

Most cryptocurrency projects are just promises at best. We are now seeing a new wave of projects built upon pre-existing platforms. Things are starting to get really interesting in the cryptospace here!

“TON is not a technology bet, since the ICO isn’t really proposing anything new. It is a user-traction bet,” said one investor with knowledge of the transaction.

Venture capitalists in recent months have been huddling with their funds’ own investors to see whether they can purchase ICO tokens instead of securities — or stock in private companies, which is what they’re supposed to do. Some firms are treading cautiously, but others like Coinbase backers Andreessen and USV have effectively become branded as, in the words of one investor, “the establishment” in this market.

Coinbase backers Andreesen and USV are ahead of the game when it comes to funneling their venture capital funds towards promising ICOs. The returns possible in an ICO dwarf other opportunities that are currently available when it comes to venture capital funding!

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Nearly every major venture firm has had access to participate in the Telegram ICO. And this deal appeals to venture funds, they say, because it offers an easy, introductory way for them to gain exposure to the crypto-economy without taking a risk on whether the currency will gain sufficient distribution. Interested investors say that Telegram’s mainstream appeal means that venture investors are not betting on some obscure platform that could fail even if the underlying technology is brilliant.

Clearly the door is open to venture firms across the globe. This is a relatively risk free cryptocurrency opportunity and a good way to introduce the old money to the new money in my opinion.

“It’s an easy ‘first ICO’ for VC’s ramping up to get their head around” cryptocurrency, said another person close to the ICO.

But here’s the bearish case, in the eyes of investors that passed on the deal: The assumption that every Telegram user is interested in using cryptocurrency isn’t valid. And this ICO does not solve the underlying problem for all ICOs — it is unclear how venture firms will cash in, even if the project is successful.

Here's the other side to the coin. There are a ton of cryptocurrency options out there. Just because telegram users may be interested in crypto doesn't mean they will fill their bags with the telegram version. They may need to do some more head scratching and come up with a better use case if they want to get us hooked!

Some others worry about the background of Pavel Durov, Telegram’s controversial CEO, or say they are not impressed by the underpinnings of the technology.

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Now I don't know much about Pavel Durov but based on this statement I would definitely research him in depth before getting into any investment scenerio with this ICO. I'm always a fan of doing solid DD before taking a shot at a risky investment.

Much of the cash for the Telegram ICO is expected to come from non-American financiers, too. About half the money for the project will be raised from the public at large later this winter, after institutional investors have had the chance to buy in.

We will just have to see how successful they are at raising the required capital needed for this project to be a success. I know for one that this ICO has peaked my interest and I'll be researching it further before deciding to participate or not.

What do you guys think about this upcoming Telegram ICO? Do they present a good use case or are the bears right to say there's not much worth investing in here?

Please leave your thoughts and comments below!

Source:

Telegram’s ICO is attracting the industry’s newer crypto investors while firms like Andreessen Horowitz sit this one out - Recode

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