Telegram 創辦人被拘留為加密貨幣創投產業帶來衝擊

- Telegram 創始人 Pavel Durov 的拘留在加密貨幣風險投資領域引起了反響，一些最大的參與者投資了與訊息應用程式密切相關的數位代幣。

Venture capital firms are bracing for the impact of Telegram founder Pavel Durov’s detention on their investments in Toncoin, a digital token closely linked to the messaging app.

創投公司正在準備應對 Telegram 創始人 Pavel Durov 的拘留對其對 Toncoin 投資的影響，Toncoin 是一種與訊息應用程式密切相關的數位代幣。

Pantera Capital Management, Animoca Brands and Mirana Ventures are among more than a dozen firms that poured money into Toncoin, whose blockchain is being used on Telegram to handle things like instant payments. Pantera, one of the largest crypto VC funds, put more than $100 million into Toncoin earlier this year, a person with knowledge of the matter said.

Pantera Capital Management、Animoca Brands 和 Mirana Ventures 等十幾家公司向 Toncoin 注入資金，Toncoin 的區塊鏈被 Telegram 用於處理即時支付等事務。一位知情人士表示，最大的加密貨幣創投基金之一 Pantera 今年稍早向 Toncoin 投資了超過 1 億美元。

The funds were drawn by a notion that’s bewitched crypto: that Telegram would morph into a digital-asset “super app” akin to China’s WeChat, with its 900 million users relying on Toncoin for everything from payments to playing blockchain-based games. The token surged fourfold from February to early July and assets locked on its blockchain, TON, briefly surpassed $1 billion.

這些資金是由一個令人著迷的加密貨幣理念吸引來的：Telegram 將演變成一個類似於中國微信的數位資產“超級應用程式”，其9 億用戶依賴Toncoin 進行從支付到玩基於區塊鏈的遊戲等所有事務。從 2 月到 7 月初，該代幣飆升了四倍，鎖定在其區塊鏈 TON 上的資產短暫超過 10 億美元。

But Durov’s detention on allegations he didn’t do enough to combat crime on Telegram laid bare the risks. French authorities seized Durov outside Paris on Aug. 24 and charged him for complicity in the spread of sexual images of children and other crimes including drug trafficking on the app. Telegram said in a Sunday statement that it abides by European laws.

但杜羅夫因被指控沒有採取足夠措施打擊 Telegram 上的犯罪行為而被拘留，這暴露了其中的風險。法國當局於 8 月 24 日在巴黎郊外逮捕了杜羅夫，並指控他共謀傳播兒童色情圖片以及在該應用程式上販運毒品等其他罪行。 Telegram 在周日的聲明中表示，它遵守歐洲法律。

Toncoin plunged roughly 20% after Durov was seized before paring some of those losses. Total value locked on TON has fallen to $573 million, according to data provider DefiLlama.

Durov 被扣押後，Toncoin 暴跌約 20%，隨後又彌補了部分損失。根據數據提供者 DefiLlama 的數據，TON 鎖定的總價值已降至 5.73 億美元。

“The majority of the investors thought that obviously the app itself is going to foster and promote, or at least seed, the adoption of the Toncoin network,” said Lasse Clausen, founding partner at crypto VC firm 1kx. “Now we have a case where a black swan event happens to the company itself and its founder — that might raise some questions about the future.”

加密貨幣風險投資公司 1kx 的創始合夥人 Lasse Clausen 表示：“大多數投資者認為，顯然該應用程式本身將促進和促進（或至少是）Toncoin 網路的採用。” “現在我們有一個案例，黑天鵝事件發生在公司本身及其創始人身上——這可能會引發一些關於未來的問題。”

Total value locked, or TVL, is an indicator of how much a blockchain is being used for its stated purpose, be it gaming or decentralized-finance applications.

鎖定總價值（TVL）是區塊鏈用於其既定目的（無論是遊戲還是去中心化金融應用程式）的程度的指標。

VC investors who poured money into Toncoin — often with agreements not to sell for at least a year — are now trying to assess whether France’s move against Durov could cause users to flee Telegram. The app became popular in crypto circles in large part because of the ultra-lax approach to oversight that landed him in legal trouble.

向 Toncoin 投入資金的風險投資者（通常簽訂至少一年內不出售的協議）現在正試圖評估法國針對 Durov 的舉措是否會導致用戶逃離 Telegram。該應用程式在加密貨幣圈中流行，很大程度上是因為其超寬鬆的監管方式讓他陷入了法律麻煩。

Pantera has described Toncoin as its largest investment, without providing an amount. A spokesperson for the Menlo Park, California-based firm, which oversees almost $5 billion, didn’t respond to emails and calls seeking comment. The TON Foundation, which governs the blockchain, said in an email that it has never raised money. Animoca Brands didn’t comment on its investment and Mirana Ventures didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry.

Pantera 將 Toncoin 描述為其最大的投資，但未提供具體金額。這家總部位於加州門洛帕克的公司管理著近 50 億美元的資產，該公司的發言人沒有回覆尋求評論的電子郵件和電話。管理區塊鏈的 TON 基金會在一封電子郵件中表示，它從未籌集過資金。 Animoca Brands 沒有對其投資發表評論，Mirana Ventures 也沒有立即回應詢問。

Some Toncoin backers see an opportunity. DWF Labs, a crypto market maker which invested in the token, spent “millions” of dollars buying Toncoin in the open market over the weekend after its price crashed, co-founder Eugene Ng said.

一些 Toncoin 支持者看到了機會。聯合創始人尤金·吳 (Eugene Ng) 表示，投資該代幣的加密貨幣做市商 DWF Labs 在價格暴跌後，週末在公開市場上花費了「數百萬美元」購買了 Toncoin。

Over-the-counter investments by VCs and other crypto funds into projects like TON are referred to as “token deals” because investors receive tokens instead of traditional equity, and they are unique to the cryptocurrency universe. To carry them out, venture capitalists often set up separate vehicles known as liquid funds designed to hold assets for a shorter period of time. Because many token deals are done bilaterally, there aren’t any reliable estimates for their prevalence.

創投和其他加密基金對 TON 等項目的場外投資被稱為“代幣交易”，因為投資者收到的是代幣而不是傳統股權，而且它們是加密貨幣領域所獨有的。為了實現這些目標，創投家通常會設立稱為流動基金的單獨工具，旨在在較短的時間內持有資產。由於許多代幣交易都是雙邊完成的，因此對其流行程度沒有任何可靠的估計。

There are several advantages for VC firms and their investors, most notably that tokens tend to involve quicker exits. One common structure is that the tokens start to become unlocked after 12 months, after which the investors can gradually sell them off. Fluctuations in the token also give backers a more up-to-date picture of how a project is doing, said Clausen.

對於創投公司及其投資者來說，有幾個優勢，最值得注意的是，代幣往往涉及更快的退出。一個常見的結構是代幣在 12 個月後開始解鎖，之後投資者可以逐漸出售它們。克勞森說，代幣的波動也讓支持者更了解計畫的進度。

“If you’re a traditional venture investor with equity, maturity takes about eight to 10 years, and so you really have many years where it’s a company just kind of doing their thing,” he said.

「如果你是一個擁有股權的傳統風險投資者，那麼成熟期大約需要八到十年，所以你真的有很多年的時間，公司只是在做他們的事情，」他說。

Token deals can also involve large discounts. Pantera bought Toncoin at 40% below the market price at the time, the person familiar said, asking not to be named because the terms were confidential. Using the average price of $6.32 for May, when the deal was announced, the investment would still be comfortably in the black.

代幣交易還可能涉及大幅折扣。知情人士稱，Pantera 以低於當時市場價格 40% 的價格購買了 Toncoin。按照交易宣佈時 5 月份 6.32 美元的平均價格計算，這項投資仍將實現盈利。

Pantera is subject to a one-year lockup, after which it can offload Toncoin in batches over several years, the person said.

這位人士表示，Pantera 的鎖定期為一年，之後可以在幾年內分批出售 Toncoin。

The flip side of token investing is that the assets are extremely volatile — and when an investment goes bad, it’s immediately visible. Funds typically mark-to-market their holdings on a regular basis, meaning a big drop shows up right away in reports to limited partners.

代幣投資的另一面是資產極不穩定——當一項投資出現問題時，它會立即顯現出來。基金通常會定期以市值計價，這意味著向有限合夥人提交的報告中會立即大幅下跌。

Few instances illustrate this risk better than the collapse of Do Kwon’s TerraUSD

很少有例子比 Do Kwon 的 TerraUSD 崩潰更能說明這種風險