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[The article has been updated with additional information.]
Cryptocurrency exchange Liquid has announced that it will exclusively offer Telegram Open Network (TON) token, Gram, via public token sale.
In a press release dated June 11, Liquid said that it has been selected by Gram Asia, the largest holder of Grams from Asia, to lead the upcoming token sale.
Messaging giant Telegram has reportedly been developing TON Blockchain, a decentralized network, since last year and plans to deploy it to its 260 million user base by the end of 2019. A private beta testing of the TON testnet was released in April and the public mainnet launch is expected to take place by October 31st, 2019.
According to the details, the token sale will be held on July 10, 2019, at 8am UTC. All participants will need to have a verified and funded Liquid account in order to qualify for the offering and would be able to purchase Grams using US dollar and USDC.
Liquid said that it will integrate TON-compatible wallets into its platform, where the participants will have their Grams delivered upon the mainnet launch. All proceeds from the token sale will be kept in custody of Liquid and will be fully refunded if the TON mainnet is not launched.
"We are excited to be partnering with Gram Asia to launch the Gram token sale, which is wonderful news to our community who are native users of Telegram,” Mike Kayamori, co-founder and CEO of Liquid said. “The TON Blockchain infrastructure can help enhance Telegram's current capabilities as a peer to peer network of value, with the launch of their cryptocurrency light wallets for Telegram's highly engaged user base."
In April, TON Labs, the infrastructure and ecosystem developer for TON, partnered with European financial services provider Wirecard to develop a joint digital financial services, payments and banking platform.
Update
A source close to Telegram told Cointelegraph that there was no relationship between Liquid and Telegram and that the announced token sale is not related to the messaging giant.
Telegram secured $1.7 billion in two private token sales to accredited investors in 2018. One such token investor told Cointelegraph they all were required to sign an agreement that prohibits them from selling the tokens before the official launch.
Cointelegraph said that it has reviewed the agreement itself, adding that "purchasers of GRAM tokens are not allowed to sell the tokens during a restricted period from the date of the purchase agreement to 18 months after the TON launch date." Purchasers are also "restricted from entering into a swap or agreement that transfers the ownership of an investment contract in GRAM tokens, in whole or in part."
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