In a noteworthy move, Libre and the TON Foundation launched the $500 million Telegram Bond Fund – a tokenized asset fund aimed at bringing Telegram's $2.4 billion debt onto the blockchain. This is the first time institutional investors can directly access Telegram bonds via the TON blockchain, marking one of the largest implementations of Real World Assets (RWA) in the current DeFi space.
Telegram Bond Fund: When traditional finance 'shakes hands' with DeFi
#TelegramBondFund is not a small initiative. According to the TON Foundation, this is one of the largest RWA moves for major organizations to date. The fund provides a legal and transparent access channel for institutional investors and recognized entities looking to benefit from Telegram bond yields – through blockchain technology.
Libre, a regulated platform specializing in real assets, will take on the role of issuing, managing registrations, repurchasing, and custodianship through the TON wallet. The fund also plans to participate in future bond issuances of Telegram and use this asset as collateral for lending activities, or yield-generating strategies within the TON ecosystem.
This event opens a new direction: instead of just trading crypto, blockchain users can hold traditional financial assets, such as corporate bonds – with the speed and transparency of decentralized technology.
TON – From messaging platform to blockchain financial hub
TON, the blockchain originally developed by Telegram, transferred control to the TON Foundation in 2020 after facing legal pressures. Although Telegram no longer directly operates it, the app still integrates functions supporting the TON blockchain, such as cryptocurrency wallets and user name auctions.
The deep integration between Telegram and $TON helps expand user access to hundreds of millions. By tokenizing Telegram bonds, TON not only acts as a blockchain platform but also becomes a direct bridge between DeFi and traditional finance (TradFi).
Libre – Not a meme coin, but a real financial partner
It is important to clarify: #Libre participating in this fund is Libre – a professional real asset infrastructure platform, completely unrelated to the meme coin Libre that was popular during the election campaign in Argentina.
Libre has experience tokenizing over $200 million in assets from major organizations, including BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, and Nomura's Laser Digital digital asset division. All these funds will gradually be deployed on TON, expanding the institutional-grade financial asset portfolio for blockchain users.
The global RWA wave accelerates: TON is just part of the bigger picture
The Telegram Bond Fund was launched amid a global RWA explosion:
BlackRock – the asset management giant – has launched the BUIDL fund worth over $2.5 billion, currently available on several major blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Polygon…
Circle, the issuer of the stablecoin $USDC , has acquired Hashnote – the manager of the $1.25 billion USYC fund – to integrate into its ecosystem.
In the Middle East, DAMAC signed a $1 billion agreement with Mantra to tokenize real estate and data centers.
The total value locked (TVL) in RWA protocols currently exceeds $11.14 billion, more than doubling in just one year, according to data from DeFiLlama.
The tokenized US Treasury bond market alone is nearing $6.16 billion, according to RWA.xyz.
All these figures prove one thing: traditional assets are rushing "onto the blockchain", and Telegram is just part of this larger migration strategy.
What does this mean for crypto users and DeFi?
With advancements like the Telegram Bond Fund, blockchain users – especially institutional investors – can:
Access high-quality corporate bonds like those of Telegram without going through traditional brokers.
Payments, transfers, and trading of financial assets are faster, more transparent, and can be self-managed through the TON wallet.
Combining traditional yield factors with the ability to generate profits and collateralize in DeFi opens up more flexible financial strategies than ever before.
Is this the future of the financial market?
If this trend continues, in the coming years we could witness:
Asset types such as stocks, real estate, and government bonds are tokenized en masse.
Binance users or other crypto platforms can access traditional financial products directly on decentralized wallets.
Institutional investors will begin to shift a significant portion of assets onto the blockchain to take advantage of transparency, speed, and cost savings.
With giants like Telegram, BlackRock, Circle, and Libre all simultaneously pushing RWA, the integration between DeFi and TradFi is gradually becoming a reality – and that could change how the world perceives digital assets in the future.
Risk warning
The digital asset and DeFi markets carry many risks, including high price volatility, smart contract risks, and unclear legal factors. Investing in tokenized products requires thorough research and may not be suitable for all investors. Investors should carefully consider before participating in this market.
