Forbes found out the details of Aton’s offer for investors in Gram cryptocurrency
Related: Russia, Israel, Pavel's Fan Club: who are TON's investors
An investment company Aton estimated the cost of Gram cryptocurrency, which will become a payment instrument on the TON platform from the Pavel Durov's messenger Telegram. According to analysts, the range of currency value is $2.1-$8.0 per token. The average price, respectively, is $5.1. By 2028, the cost of one Gram can reach $15-$30 per coin, according to the Aton report, which was at the disposal of Forbes.
How much is Gram?
Analysts estimated the cost of Telegram's future crypto coin on the basis of the “Quantitative Theory of Money”, that is, it was considered as a currency, and not as a security paper. Now the TON platform is undergoing testing, to which several development teams have been admitted. Aton analysts point out that all this is an absolutely theoretical calculation, given that the TON project has not yet been completed, and Gram has not been released as of the date of this report. "It is impossible to determine the fair value of crypto coin (due to the limited practical use of cryptocurrency and the relatively low level of application at the moment)," the report says. The calculation was carried out taking into account the cost of tokens at the stage of initial investment, the total volume of emissions, the speed of circulation and the number of potential users of the platform (in theory, this could be all Telegram users).
With the initial sale of Gram in February 2018, Telegram raised $850 million: then the founder and CEO of QIWI Sergey Solonin and WBD's founder David Yakobashvili invested in the Pavel Durov's and his brother Nikolay's new idea. Totally they invested in cryptocurrency $27 million for $0.38 per token. In the next round in March 2018, Telegram raised another $850 million. At the same time, at the 2nd stage, the price increased to $1.33 per token.
As it is written in White paper, the company planned to hold the 3rd round of funding. The Aton document states that this stage may take place in 2020, and within its framework $850 million may be raised.
Today, the total number of sold Grams is about 2.89 billion. Another 200 million tokens will be held by developers, and 500 million tokens are used “as incentives for the ecosystem” (4% and 10% from the whole, respectively). By 2028, the total volume of digital currency's issuance will reach 5.98 billion, and the amount of TON's coins in circulation will come to $4.47 billion.
Taking into account the volume of the market and the growing number of Telegram users (the document indicates that in 2018 there were 250 million, and by 2021 the number of active users is forecast to reach 675 million), as well as the estimated average annual amount of transactions per user by the end of 2028, analysts estimate that Gram’s market capitalization will reach $68-135 billion by the end of 2028, and the cost of 1 coin will be $15-30.
The goal of "Aton"
The report of analysts with the calculation of the cost of cryptocurrency, the company sent out several investors. The Aton press service confirmed its authenticity but noted that the document was issued for a certain category of customers who are interested in the crypto market and are not intended for publication in the media. Two investors who received the "paper" told Forbes that it was prepared due to Aton’s plans to resell its share in TON. “The deadlines have been delayed investors are nervous and want to sell a share,” says one of the Forbes interlocutors. The information about the sale of Gram was denied by the company. Aton bought a stake in TON in February 2018, its size is not reported. A Forbes source familiar with the details of the proposal says that the share is insignificant compared to the total amount of Gram emissions.
Trending: Smart Contracts Audits Startup Hexens Closed $4.2 M Seed Funding
Aton sells the coins from the 1st round with the cost of the 2nd. It means they sell for $1.33 "coins" that they bought for $0.38. The profitability of this kind of deal is 250%, so "it is clear that investors want to sell a share on such conditions," says entrepreneur and investor Yevgeny Lashkov. “According to the contract concluded by investors, restrictions are now imposed on the "coins from the 1st round", and the full amount cannot be resold for two years. Gram tokens will be released every three to six months at 25% after the launch of TON. But, apparently, Aton’s lawyers were able to find some opportunities to make the deal, ”the Forbes source said.