Durov said on his Telegram channel today that the two and a half year blockchain and crypto project has been put to sleep. Ironically, after leaving Russia because the government wanted his encryption keys to his social media firm, Durovβs cryptocurrency idea lost steam because of a U.S. court. βThe technology we created allowed for an open, free, decentralized exchange of value and ideas. TON had the potential to revolutionize how people store and transfer funds and information,β he wrote on his channel. βUnfortunately, a U.S. court stopped TON from happening.β
The messaging service and social-media platform owes creditors roughly $700 million by the end of April, according to people briefed on the companyβs plans and loan documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal. At the same time, Telegram Group Inc. must cover rising equipment and bandwidth expenses because of its rapid growth, despite going years without attempting to generate revenue.
