Libre – an "omnichain" platform specializing in real-world assets (RWA), has announced plans to Tokenize 500 million USD of bonds issued by Telegram on The Open Network (TON). This move marks the first time institutional investors can access Telegram's social network fixed-income bonds in a decentralized manner.
Libre will do this through the launch of the Telegram Bond Fund (TBF) – an investment fund that allows recognized investors to access a portion of Telegram's outstanding corporate debt, estimated at around 2.4 billion USD. According to the official announcement made on Wednesday, eligible participants can use TBF as collateral in TON's DeFi ecosystem, thereby accessing yield-generating services and lending activities.
To date, the total value of tokenized real-world assets has reached over 18.9 billion USD – an 89% increase from 10 billion USD in April last year, according to data from RWA.xyz and The Block. Corporate bonds have historically had the lowest share in this segment. By collaborating with TON Foundation – the non-profit organization behind the TON blockchain, Libre hopes to change this situation by bringing traditional financial assets to a blockchain directly linked to the Telegram platform, which has over 1 billion monthly active users.
Previously, Libre had Tokenized over 200 million USD of assets from major financial institutions like BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane on various blockchains, including Injective – a Layer 1 blockchain backed by Binance. According to Libre's Chairman Jez Mohideen, these funds will also be deployed on TON soon.
Not stopping at bond Tokenization, the omnichain Tokenization platform Libre also plans to integrate a "Gateway" system – allowing investors to use stablecoins and fiat currencies to invest in RWA through native TON wallets.
TON Foundation's CEO and MoonPay co-founder Max Crown noted: "The launch of the Telegram Bond Fund is an important step in bringing legally compliant real-world assets into the TON ecosystem."
