Telegram Open Network TON an elaborate hoax ?

In the absence of an offical announcement, I find myself wondering if the circulating rumor of an ICO for a cryptocurrency and dapp platform being developed for the messaging app heavy weight is a carefully crafted elborate hoax.

The rumors being circulated in the media are all based on unnamed sources, leaked documents and a proffessional looking promo video. All very convincing and hinting at a TON ICO taking place Q1 2018.

Most noticible is an article in Techcrunch which goes into some depth hyping and speculating on a Pre Sale ICO involving an inner circle and mentions the Russian billionaire Tech investor Yuri Milner.

https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/08/telegram-open-network/

A quick search finds related press articles appearing on mainstream media sites for The Financial Times, Fortune, Forbes and more. In the Cryptocurrency space Coindesk and CoinTelegragh to mention just a few.

The rumor is spreading like a wild fire TNW The Next Web cites Techcrunch and links to a leaked white paper hosted on a google drive account said to be provided by Cryptoinvest.

Then there is my favorite, the very proffessional promo video that appeared 3 weeks or so ago that mentions a token distribution event!

Enjoy!

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.

I want to also mention that there has been tweets and chat by Dan Larimer and Jon Motonis re; TON. Fun fact! coincidentally by name there is also said to be a Telegram pump group headed by a Ton Montana!

Do you think Telegram Open Network TON is an elaborate hoax, real or something more sinister?