So it sounds like a kickstarter. Does the SEC regulate those? Realize the IRS has ruled cryptocurrency isn't any different than property.

It looks like they claim they are allowed to (https://www.sec.gov/smallbusiness/exemptofferings/regcrowdfu...) but at the same time in various businesses it is normal to take the money before a thing is built, that's just usually how it has to work.

Kickstarter doesn't give any money back to funders; they get a pre-defined good based on how much they give.

There is no reasonable expectation of profit for people funding via Kickstarter.

If someone would make a kickstarter that'd promise money returns, then yes, SEC would get involved.

Yeah, and Telegram doesn't promise any return as far as I can tell.

Telegram promises Grams (digital coins), to be delivered once the TON network is operational. Telegram even projects what the price of a Gram will be on the market.

This is a vehicle for investing in Telegram's business. If you buy this contract, you're giving Telegram money, which they promise to use to develop a new service. They promise to give you a cut of the value created by that new service. This is very much like a stock offering.