MOSCOW, March 30. /TASS/. Pavel Durov’s Telegram has attracted $850 mln as a result of the second initial coin offering (ICO), according to the data of the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

During the first ICO the messenger attracted a similar amount of money. Now the total amount of funds raised via two ICOs reached $1.7 billion.

According to SEC, Telegram needs these funds to develop a new platform called Telegram Open Network or TON. The structure will be based on the blockchain and the new messenger versions will have new tokens called Grams.

Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging service.

In January, Russia’s Finance Ministry published the draft law "On Digital Financial Assets" regulating its issue and turnover. The document, in particular, defines tokens, establishes the procedure for conducting ICO (Initial Coin Offering), and also determines the legal regime for cryptocurrencies and mining.

The latter are the subject of disagreements between the Finance Ministry and the Central Bank. However, the authors of the draft law are confident that including cryptocurrencies in the legal regulation of digital assets will reduce the risks of law violation and increase transparency of the tax regime, which will lead to an increase in tax revenues to the Russian budget.