Regulatory hurdles have pushed Telegram to buy out US-based investors.

The Telegram Open Network (TON) launch was delayed by another year after the company was unable to comply with the requirements set before the deadline on April 30.

As part of their agreement with investors, Telegram promised that it would offer a 72% refund on every investment if the network was not launched by the due date. While this offer is still on the table, the company is also offering a 110% payment on the original amount of any investment that is extended to April 2021.

In a follow-up letter to their investors last Monday, Telegram added that only investors outside of the United States are eligible to extend their investments; those based within the US will have only one option, which is to accept the refund.

Additionally, the company is refusing to make these payments in any digital currency due to its position with regulators.

“We have made the difficult decision not to pursue an option involving grams or another cryptocurrency due to its uncertain reception from the relevant regulators,” Telegram explained in its message to investors.

The London-based organization’s decision to single out US investors is due to the numerous regulatory hurdles it has encountered within the country. The United States Security and Exchange Commission (USEC) filed a lawsuit against Telegram in the Southern District of New York in October 2019, and managed to procure an emergency restraining order, which delayed the Network’s launch.

The TON was originally scheduled to go live in that same month; however, their launch was first moved to April 2020. It has now been delayed a second time and is rescheduled to go online by April 2021.

Just this April, Telegram was also denied the right to distribute TON’s native cryptocurrency, called Gram, to non-US investors until the court would arrive at a decision in their case.

It remains unclear as to whether Telegram will push through with work on the blockchain project, as the distribution of Gram tokens remains unstable.

Establishing a foothold in the US has been a struggle for other cryptocurrencies as well; aside from the communication company,  Facebook’s Libra Project is also under heavy criticism and scrutiny from regulators.

The recent pandemic has led to a rise in cryptocurrency scams around the world. These scam artists are targeting people through social media messages and emails. 

The FBI has revealed that they are expecting a rise in cryptocurrency-related scams in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the cryptocurrency industry has been used for criminal activity in the past, more people confined to their homes and the rise in businesses accepting cryptocurrency as a legitimate form of payment may encourage more illicit activity.

The FBI urges people to be cautious, as scammers are targeting people of all ages. The organization also stated that “many traditional financial crimes and money laundering schemes are now orchestrated via cryptocurrencies.”

Cryptocurrency scams may take the following forms:

• Attempts to blackmail through emails or messages informing the target that they need to pay in Bitcoin, or else personal information will be made public or the target will be infected with the Coronavirus
• Employers asking for donations and putting them into a crypto kiosk
• Non-existent equipment or treatments to prevent or cure the coronavirus, which can only be paid through digital currency.

To avoid falling victim to these scams, the FBI urges netizens to conduct their research before releasing any form of currency. This includes:

• Verifying vendors or charities prior to sending donations
• Studying investment opportunities
• Refraining from using personal bank accounts for work-from-home business activities
• Contacting law enforcement should any attempts at blackmail happen.

Recent scams that have circulated around the internet include calls for Bitcoin donations to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention for the fight against the coronavirus, as well as impersonations of officials from agencies who are willing to provide confidential information on these active infections for a price paid in Bitcoin.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are urged to monitor transactions and conduct more comprehensive Know Your Customer (KYC) reviews on their clients. It is hoped that these exchanges function as a barrier for questionable transactions, with ideas such as enhanced AI and partnerships with data providers being proposed.

Internet advertisements are also under close scrutiny; Google Ads and Youtube have previously displayed fraudulent cryptocurrency ads through their advertisement network. Despite strict regulations against all cryptocurrency ads in general, advertisement platforms still have a long way to go to mitigate the spread of scams.