The filing of motions indicates that both the SEC and Telegram want to avoid a full-fledged lawsuit with the debate of the parties, which can take a lot of time.
Position of Telegram:
According to Telegram, the decision to ban the release of Gram contradicts SEC statements about the desire to collaborate with developers.
On January 7-8, Pavel Durov was interrogated in Dubai. According to the transcript of the interrogation, during two days he was explaining to SEC lawyers how much money he spent on Telegram and TON, why he decided to conduct an ICO, how much he spent on equipment and why he doesn’t consider Gram as a security.
Durov’s position during the interrogation: Gram is not a security, but a digital currency. And a large number of investors were needed to finance the purchase of equipment, as well as to ensure the stability of the future blockchain platform.
Position of SEC:
SEC continues to insist that investors expected to make money on the resale of Gram even before the launch of TON, and Durov knew about the gray market. After examining the correspondence of Telegram consultant John Hyman, the SEC found that members of the TON team called Gram tokens an analogue of securities.
A third party intervened in the lawsuit. Now the US Digital Chamber of Commerce is involved in the legal dispute between Telegram and SEC. The Chamber of Digital Commerce is a non-profit organization that represents the interests of about 200 companies that develop blockchain technologies or invest in them.
The Chamber calls for clarity regarding investment contracts. The Chamber emphasized that they were not trying to prove that the sale of Gram tokens was not a securities transaction. Instead, the trade association seeks to provide sufficient clarity regarding the rules applicable to digital assets:
“Despite the fact that the Chamber has no idea whether the offer and sale of the Grams is a securities transaction, we are interested in ensuring that the legal framework applicable to the digital assets underlying the investment contract is clear and consistent.”
