Libre’s $500M Telegram Bond Tokenization on TON Sparks DeFi Revolution
Wall Street meets crypto—again. Libre Capital just dropped a bombshell: $500 million in Telegram bonds are getting tokenized on The Open Network (TON), and the trad-fi boys are scrambling to keep up.
Why it matters: This isn’t just another ‘blockchain pilot.’ It’s a full-scale invasion of legacy finance turf, with Telegram’s 800M users as potential collateral damage. The new fund backing this play? Let’s just hope it’s not another ‘yield farming’ rebrand.
The cynical take: Nothing says ‘innovation’ like repackaging debt into shiny crypto tokens—but hey, at least the bankers get to say ‘Web3’ at cocktail parties now.
Expanding DeFi Access to Corporate Bonds
The initiative, dubbed the Telegram Bond Fund (TBF), will mark the first time institutional investors can access Telegram’s corporate debt valued at approximately $2.4 billion through a decentralized blockchain platform. The fund’s tokenized units will exist on TON’s blockchain, allowing holders to tap into TON’s growing DeFi ecosystem. According to Libre, investors will be able to leverage these tokenized assets as collateral, participate in lending and borrowing protocols, and access yield-generating opportunities.
Libre CEO Avtar Sehra described the initiative as a hybrid of conventional and digital financial services, saying,
“What we’ve created is like a fixed income fund that acquires the bonds and then we tokenize the fund. When you purchase units in the fund these are on the TON chain, giving you access to the returns of the underlying bonds themselves. This opens up opportunities to use the bonds for collateral, ease of transfers, etc, to ultimately create utility with these financial instruments.”
Targeting RWA Growth on TON
The tokenized RWA market has expanded rapidly, with on-chain real-world assets now valued at over $18.9 billion, up from $10 billion a year earlier, according to RWA.xyz and The Block. While corporate bonds have represented a relatively small segment of this market, Libre and the TON Foundation intend to address this gap by bringing regulated, yield-bearing assets to TON’s blockchain. The network, closely affiliated with messaging platform Telegram’s 1 billion-plus active user base, offers a strategic entry point for integrating traditional financial products within a Web3 environment.
Libre’s collaboration with TON Foundation marks a continuation of its work with prominent financial institutions. The firm has previously tokenized over $200 million in assets from clients including BlackRock, Brevan Howard, and Hamilton Lane across multiple blockchain networks such as Injective, a Binance-backed Layer 1. According to Libre Chairman Jez Mohideen, the company also plans to migrate these funds onto TON in the future.
Integration Through TON-Native Wallets
As part of its broader roadmap, Libre plans to enable RWA investments via stablecoins and fiat currency through TON-native wallets, facilitated by its proprietary “Gateway” system. This infrastructure is designed to streamline investor access and further integrate regulated financial products with DeFi ecosystems.
Max Crown, CEO of TON Foundation and MoonPay co-founder, called the launch of TBF “a major step forward in bringing regulated real-world assets to TON’s ecosystem,” signaling the Foundation’s ongoing efforts to bridge conventional finance with blockchain-based platforms.
Libre’s TBF launch reflects a growing trend of tokenizing traditional assets as institutional interest in blockchain-based financial products continues to build momentum.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice
