Isn't their crypto implementation still private?
Given that their crypto implementation is not even actually used, this seems like a red herring.
Telegram is not an encrypted messaging app.
Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
61–70 of 108 posts
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#62Earlier quoted context omitted.
In this case "private" have nothing to do with the code license. Problem with Telegram is that protocol and cryptography they use is their own. They might use better reviewed protocol like one of Signal, but they didn't. No need to explain what dangers same strategy going to cause with cryptocurrencies.
Was the Signal protocol reviewed in 2013 when Telegram was launched? It seems it was developed in 2013. I'd say the biggest problem with Telegram is the fact that E2EE isn't enabled by default and no one (that I've chatted with) uses it.
The official desktop client doesn't even support it, after years of people asking for it. Telegram is basically equivalent to Hangouts or any other random chat app, if you care about security.
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It's definitely a worse deal for investors than an IPO as there is no equity being sold. If you pay $100,000 for 100 shares of Google I guess you're technically getting equity, but what exactly is the advantage of that? Sure, your broker has a digital ledger that records your ownership, but is that fundamentally different from digital entries in any other ledger just because there's equity? Whether you buy Google s…
> Whether you buy Google shares or Telegram tokens, the only reason you're buying is because you expect the price to go up in the future. I am not arguing the equity angle. I kind of agree with you on that, especially because you used Google as an example. But, I am getting a bit tired of people making it sound like IPO and ICOs are the same. They are not. Google or any other company have to be in operation for year(…
Shares can also pay dividend.
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#64I guess they are expecting x20 basing it on the 20B paid to Whatsapp
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#65Earlier quoted context omitted.
Small nit: Until we finally find use cases that make cryptocurrencies relevant to regular people there's nothing more going on here than Tulips and Ponzis.
unless
I chose "until" specifically because finding a good use case does not justify any of the shenanigans that happened before that discovery. The word "when" doesn't carry that connotation, and "unless" doesn't either - though I'm guessing you chose it because it implies we may never find one?
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#66[deleted]
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#67Earlier quoted context omitted.
Per the SEC filing, yes, they are receiving the $850M as cash from private investors (mostly VCs). The "product" they are selling is tokens for their ecosystem, described in this leaked whitepaper: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oaKoJDWvhtlvtQEuqxgfkUHcI5...
Thanks, that was a good read. And raises a lot of questions in my mind. They are going to use PoS mechanism. So, I had to look at the token distribution scheme. 4% by the team and 52% by "Ton Reserve", which I think is not explained. With only 44% held in hands of non-Ton people, is this even decentralized?
> is this even decentralized?
not in the least
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#68Maybe I'm the last to join the party but if i understand correctly, is this money they are going to receive as investment? I ask because as much as i can google I can't find any product they are selling or any ad they are displaying, so what is being bought here? I'm not trying to be sarcastic, is there something i am missing?
Per the SEC filing, yes, they are receiving the $850M as cash from private investors (mostly VCs). The "product" they are selling is tokens for their ecosystem, described in this leaked whitepaper: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1oaKoJDWvhtlvtQEuqxgfkUHcI5...
Note that the $/coin scale was exponential during the ICO and private. Essentially premined by well-connected vcs.
Similar to startups before reaching IPO but much faster.
Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#69Earlier quoted context omitted.
They seem to want to do things properly wrt SEC. That would mean only advertising to accredited investors.
Thanks to securities laws, the rich get richer, and the poor have to wait for the scraps. Ideally the SEC's mandate would be limited to going after P&D groups and other scams, and no longer include enforcing restrictions on selling securities to unaccredited investors as a non-public company. If the poorest households are allowed to spend 9% of their income on lottery tickets, I don't see the justification for preven…
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Re: Telegram has raised an initial $850M for its billion-dollar ICO
#70The inherent issue with ICOs is pricing. Buying tokens, which can be exchanged for a service at an unknown ratio (price), amounts to financing a new fast food chain by buying a million tokens for $1,000, where the tokens can be used to purchase hamburgers once the chain opens. The problem is that you have no idea if those million tokens — once the chain is up and running — will buy a thousand hamburgers or three. So…
It’s launching an airline by pre-selling miles. Sure, you might have 1,000,000 miles and Platinum status on that new airline, the boarding passes are on the blockchain, but the airline gets to control the mile redemption rates and status privileges for that Platinum level.
Also if people redeem these miles, wouldn't it bankrupt the airline or at least significantly affect its profitability?