Rumors: Telegram to hold ICO and issue its own altcoin

The technology-related channels in Telegram were filled with rumors about Telegram for the whole last week. The cause of this disturbance in the community was the rumor about the messenger management deciding hold an initial coin offering, or ICO.

The origin of the rumor can be traced back to Anton Rozenberg, who previously worked for Telegram, and Fyodor Skuratov, chief of the local Russian Community Management Association. They both cite their sources which tell that this ICO project will be called TON, or the Telegram Open Network, and that simultaneously with this offering, there’s going to be an update with a new cryptocurrency integrated in Telegram.

Every rumor, however, deserves at least a bit of skepticism, and here one has to be skeptical due to the fact that Pavel Durov, the person who actually knows what’s going on in the development offices of Telegram, rejected to confirm the rumors while telling on Twitter that all official announcements are posted only at telegram.org. And there is no reason to believe that Durov would want to issue a cryptocurrency that could become rival for Bitcoin, in which he holds a share.