Mike Novogratz on Telegram: ‘We Don’t Need Another Crypto’

Published at: April 30, 2020

As Telegram again delays the launch of its Telegram Open Network (TON) after missing their April 30 deadline, some key players in the crypto industry don’t want Telegram to launch the coin at all.

Michael Novogratz, CEO of crypto merchant bank, Galaxy Digital, and one of the biggest Bitcoin (BTC) bulls, expressed a sceptical stance to Telegram’s blockchain and crypto project in an April 30 tweet.

Novogratz wants to turn 400 million Telegram users into Bitcoin consumers

According to Novogratz, there is no need to launch either another blockchain network or another cryptocurrency. Novogratz, who is confident that Bitcoin will hit $20,000 by the end of 2020, argues that Telegram should integrate Bitcoin and stablecoins instead of creating the TON and its native token, Gram (GRM).

He wrote:

“Telegram should enable btc and stable coins on their platform. We don’t need another blockchain. We don’t need another crypto. They have an awesome community of messaging users. Turn them into consumers now.”

Novogratz, a major Bitcoin bull, has invested in a number of cryptocurrency projects, including Cosmos (ATOM). However, the crypto enthusiast reportedly missed out on Telegram’s token sale, failing to get into later funding rounds.

Often referred to as one of the favorite messengers in the crypto community, Telegram could apparently bring a massive amount of exposure to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. On April 24, the encrypted messaging app hit 400 million monthly users. This is a significant surge from the app’s 300 million monthly users in 2019. According to the firm, at least 1.5 million new users sign up for Telegram per day.

Telegram has been developing its crypto project since 2017

However, instead of introducing popular cryptos like Bitcoin, Telegram chose to work on its own cryptocurrency and blockchain. Telegram’s TON network and Gram token have been in development since 2017. Telegram’s crypto initiative subsequently raised about $1.7 billion in two private initial coin offerings in 2018.

Telegram was originally planning to launch the TON network in October 2019. However, the initiative has still not launched. Telegram has been in legal battle with the United States’ Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) since the conclusion of their coin offering. According to the SEC, Telegram violated securities laws by conducting its $1.7 billion token sale in 2018.

With their legal disputes still unresolved, Telegram founder and CEO, Pavel Durov, reportedly offered investors an immediate 72% refund, or 110% in 12 months.

As reported by Cointelegraph, TON’s validators are still able to launch the network independently from Telegram, regardless of the regulatory issues.

Tags
Bitcoin
Altcoin
Cryptocurrencies
Stablecoin
Michael Novogratz
Telegram
Messaging App
Ton
Related Posts
The cryptocurrency sector is overflowing with dead projects
In 2017, when everything concerned with cryptocurrency and blockchain still looked fresh and interesting, it seemed that there would be no day without a new “revolutionary” project or idea. Decentralized financial system, decentralized torrent tracker, decentralized office documentation system. Decentralized, decentralized, decentralized. The overuse of terms like “transparent,” “distributed” and “blockchain-based” soon made most press papers look generic. The closer we got to the peak of the Bitcoin price at the end of 2017, the more absurd the names of new projects became: “Ethereum-based payment system for slaughterhouse industry workers,” “decentralized blockchain-based dwarf horse breeding platform,” “peer-to-peer personal banking service …
Technology / Nov. 8, 2020
Galaxy Digital Founder Michael Novogratz: One of the Social Media Cryptos Will Succeed
Michael Novogratz, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency merchant bank Galaxy Digital, has suggested that one of the crypto assets created by social media giants will succeed. Novogratz made his remarks during an interview with CNBC published on May 24. At the end of the interview, Novogratz noted: “I think Facebook’s payment currency, I think Telegram’s gonna have one...You’re gonna see one of those payment coins work, and I think that has the chance to be a real currency.” Earlier in the interview, Novogratz reiterated his stance that bitcoin (BTC) is a store of value, again comparing the coin to gold …
Bitcoin / May 24, 2019
Circle’s USD Coin Sees Major Growth After Market Downturn
As Bitcoin (BTC) and the cryptocurrency market at large experience a major downturn, people turn to stablecoins in an attempt to preserve their capital. Some stablecoins have grown more than others, however. Stablecoin marketcaps are generally expected to increase after a major cryptocurrency market downturn. However, this is not what happened for most stablecoins during the past week. According to data from Coin360, Bitcoin has fallen from a height of nearly $8,000, down to under $4,000 between March 12 to March 13. Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360 USDC market cap sees major growth Jeremy Allaire, the co-founder and CEO …
Bitcoin / March 15, 2020
Anchorage Becomes First Qualified Gram Custodian Ahead of Oct. 31 Launch
Digital asset custodian of software firm Anchor Labs has stated that it became the first entity qualified to support institutional custody for Telegram’s Gram (GRM) token. Gram to launch on Oct. 31 Anchorage Trust Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of California-based Anchor Labs, will be the first entity that will enable institutional investors and organizations to hold Gram tokens at launch on Oct. 31, the company’s co-founder and president Diogo Monica announced on Oct. 7. Not registered with the SEC In the blog post, the firm stated that the services will be offered either through Anchorage Trust Company or Anchorage …
Blockchain / Oct. 8, 2019
Fiat-Backed Stablecoins ⁠— Attempt to Take the Best of Both Worlds
Stablecoins attempt to be fiat currencies among cryptos. They can be a medium of exchange, a means of storing value and a unit of account. Unlike other digital coins, stablecoins are tied to some kind of stable asset — such as the United States dollar, euro or even gold. Linking to such assets confirms the coin’s stability and mitigating the volatility of cryptocurrencies. Related: Stablecoins Explained With this type of a token, an equal amount of fiat currency should be stored by the issuing company to back the value of the token. The owner of this token should be able …
Bitcoin / Oct. 6, 2019