Two against one? Third party may support Pavel Durov in court with SEC

In the SEC case against Telegram, a third independent litigant may appear.Petition forObtaining the status of "friend of the court" (amicus curiae) was filed by the American Chamber of Digital Commerce, a non-profit group that defends the interests of representatives of the blockchain industry.This is reported by The Bell.

The organization decided to intervene immediately after the participants filed a counter-petition for expedited proceedings.

The status of amicus curiae makes it possible to assist the court by providing information relevant to the case, without being a party to it.

In a motion, the Chamber expressly stated that itexperts believe that the court should not recognize Gram tokens of the TON blockchain platform (Telegram Open Network) as securities, just because they are digital assets and the subject of an investment contract.

"The Chamber is interested in ensuring that the legal framework applied to the digital assets underlying the investment contract is clear and consistent,"- said in the memorandum submitted with the petition.

The Digital Commerce Chamber is a Nonprofitorganization (NPO), which represents the interests of companies developing the blockchain, and their investors. The Chamber’s advisory board includes former JP Morgan head Blythe Masters and former chairman of the Commodity Exchange Trading Commission (CFTC) Christopher Giancarlo.

The publication believes that the intervention of the Chamber maybe in the hands of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in proceedings with the SEC. However, Advisor Tomashevskaya & Partners, Mosow Digital School teacher Roman Yankovsky believes that her support will not bring any effect.

He noted that the Chamber is actually an organization of lobbyists from the blockchain industry, and the court’s attitude towards it will be appropriate.

«Obviously she represents an opinionentrepreneurs directly related to blockchain technology and interested in the outcome of the case. On this basis, it can be assumed that the court will perceive documents emanating from this organization as aimed at supporting a specific party»,- Yankovsky emphasized in an exclusive comment for ForkLog.

Recall that on January 7-8, an 18-hour interrogation of Pavel Durov by the SEC lawyer took place, during which the founder of Telegram stated that Gram is a digital currency, not a security.

Earlier, the SEC provided the court with data thatindicate that the offer to investors of the token was consistent with the practice of issuing securities, and the company employees themselves classified Gram in official correspondence.