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Telegram Halts Work on Blockchain Network After Court Decision

Telegram Halts Work on Blockchain Network After Court Decision

(Bloomberg) -- Telegram Messenger LLP officially scrapped plans to build a digital ledger for transactions.

In a blog post Tuesday, Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov said his instant-messaging platform is discontinuing work on the project, which ran afoul of regulators. Others may continue working on the technology, he said.

The move was largely expected after a U.S. court sided with the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. The SEC accused Telegram of violating securities laws by selling $1.7 billion of its Gram cryptocurrency to investors in 2018 without registration. The court granted an injunction to prevent Gram’s distribution.

“We are leaving it to the next generation of entrepreneurs and developers to pick up the banner and learn from our mistakes,” Durov said in the blog post, which ends with, “We hope that you succeed where we have failed.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.