Blockstream CEO Adam Back publicly criticized the economic model of the GRAM token, which is strongly associated with Telegram. The exit of Back, one of the well-known names since the early days of Bitcoin, came after Pavel Durov’s new criticism of the fiat money system.
Durov’s post restarted the discussion
The controversy occurred on the day when the main token of The Open Network ecosystem reverted to its historical name and was officially renamed GRAM. On the same day, Pavel Durov made a post targeting the traditional monetary system and praising Bitcoin. Durov emphasized that governments constantly print money, but the Bitcoin supply cannot be increased in this way.
While Durov stated that governments continue to print money, he argued that there is no such issuance mechanism on the Bitcoin side.
Adam Back gave a short and sarcastic response to this post. Referring to Durov’s own blockchain ecosystem, Back hinted that GRAM minting is also evident. According to the information in the news, Pavel Durov has not yet responded to this comment.
Mini dictionary: Cypherpunk refers to the technology-oriented thought movement that advocates privacy, encryption and individual freedoms. Adam Back is a well-known name in this circle for his work on Hashcash and his contributions to the early development of Bitcoin.
Back’s old objections to the Telegram line
Back’s approach is not new. In its posts in January 2020, it was seen that Telegram kept its distance from cryptocurrency initiatives. During the period when Durov was fighting a legal battle with US regulators, Back criticized Telegram’s first token sale in harsh words and considered it a problematic structure for investors.
Back argued that those who bought Gram tokens did not have the corporate rights and protection mechanisms that classical venture capital investors had.
On the other hand, Back claimed that there was inconsistency in the approach of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In his assessment, a complete halt to Durov’s project seemed unfair compared to the relatively limited sanctions imposed on the EOS blockchain.
The return on behalf of GRAM came with a vote
After the intervention of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Pavel Durov had to withdraw from the Gram project. Afterwards, independent developers continued the project under the name Toncoin. In the latest development, the main token of The Open Network returned to the name GRAM by community vote.
According to the information provided, 81.22% of the community members who participated in the vote supported returning to the original name of the project used in 2018. Thus, the transaction code of the main token in the TON ecosystem has been officially changed to GRAM.
| Title | Detail |
|---|---|
| old name | toncoin |
| new name | GRAM |
| Voting support | 81.22% |
| Reference year | 2018 |
Back’s last release coincided with the exact day when this name change was announced. Therefore, it is considered that the criticism refers not only to Durov’s words, but also to the re-emphasis of the GRAM brand.
