Telegram has been working on TON blockchain and its native cryptocurrency grams since 2017 and has mostly kept mum about the whole affair though speculations and rumours have been doing rounds. The company, however, decided to break their silence and clarified several details about their project.

If you’ve been following TON blockchain and Gram cryptocurrency, or even if you’re learning about it, read on to find out more about the two and put the speculations and rumours to rest.

Telegram says that this new announcement will “supersede and remove” any prior statements made by the company concerning TON Blockchain and Grams, which includes the details in TON whitepapers.

No integration with Telegram messenger app

One of the most critical parts of Telegram’s announcement was that at the time of launch of the TON blockchain, neither the blockchain or Gram cryptocurrency would be integrated with the existing Telegram messenger app.

Telegram’s TON wallet application will be available for transactions as a standalone product and will compete with other crypto wallets in the market. However, the company also says that the integration of their messenger and crypto wallet apps might be on the table in the future “to the extent permitted under applicable laws and governmental authorities”.

Telegram also says that they’re not obligated and make no commitment or promise to establish a TON Foundation or an entity on similar lines in the future.

Also read: Top 7 Telegram channels for cryptocurrency

Grams cryptocurrency isn’t up for sale yet

Telegram also confirmed that their native cryptocurrency, Grams, isn’t up for sale yet and won’t be until the launch of TON Blockchain. There are quite a few websites that are offering Grams for sale to the public, but the company says those are scams as Grams — still in Beta test — don’t exist yet.“It has come to our attention that certain websites appear to be offering Grams to the public. These websites sometimes refer to the offers as ‘token presales’, and some pretend to be affiliated with Telegram,” the company announced. “These are not official Telegram websites, they have no affiliation with Telegram, and no grams have been issued to anyone yet.”

As mentioned above, Grams will only be available once the TON blockchain is launched.

Ton will be decentralised, and Telegram won’t maintain it

With TON, Telegram aims to create a decentralised blockchain platform, which will be maintained by a community of third-party developers. The company or its affiliates don’t promise or commit to developing features and apps for TON blockchain after it’s launched.

“Once it launches, Telegram won‘t be obligated to maintain the platform or create any apps for it. It’s possible we never will.”

Also read: What is Telegram X, and how is it different from Telegram?

Telegram won’t control TON blockchain

TON blockchain is open source and will remain so. Once launched, Telegram won’t have any control, unique rights or responsibility concerning the blockchain. According to the company, this decision to avoid the commitment of holding grams by either Telegram or its employees was made to deter the perception that either of the two “can or will exercise control over the TON blockchain following its launch”.

The future of Grams cryptocurrency is uncertain

As is true for any other cryptocurrency currently trading in the market, the future of Grams is uncertain, and like others, it too isn’t a sure-shot bet to get you rich. Telegram makes no promise that holders of Gram cryptocurrency will make any profits.

According to the company, “Grams are intended to act as a medium of exchange between users in the TON ecosystem. Grams are not investment products, and there should be no expectation of future profit or gain from the purchase, sale or holding of Gram.”

The company further clarified that buying Grams won’t give the holder any equity, ownership or governance rights in Telegram or its affiliates, as well as dividends or distribution rights from them.

Grams cryptocurrency and TON blockchain are subject to the same volatile conditions as other similar products in the market. One should invest at their own risk.

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