Libre plans to tokenize $500 million Telegram bonds on TON in real-world asset push

Libre, an "omnichain" solution focused on real-world assets (RWAs), plans to tokenize $500 million worth of Telegram-issued bonds on The Open Network (TON), giving institutional investors decentralized access to the social network's fixed-income securities for the first time.

Libre intends to achieve this through the launch of Telegram Bond Fund (TBF), which it said would offer accredited players exposure to a portion of Telegram's corporate outstanding debt, worth roughly $2.4 billion. Eligible participants would be able to use TBF as a collateral asset within TON's DeFi ecosystem, tapping into yield-bearing services and borrowing or lending facilities, according to a statement released Wednesday.

Tokenized RWAs hold over $18.9 billion in value, up 89% from $10 billion in assets last April, according to data from RWA.xyz and The Block. Corporate bonds have historically held the smallest market share in this sector. Libre's partnership with TON Foundation, the non-profit that supports TON's blockchain, hopes to shake this status quo by supplying traditional assets on a blockchain affiliated with more than 1 billion monthly active Telegram users.

The protocol has previously tokenized over $200 million in assets from institutions such as BlackRock, Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane across various blockchains, including Injective, a Binance-backed Layer 1. Libre also plans to bring these funds to TON, said Jez Mohideen, chairman of Libre.

Additionally, the omnichain tokenization platform plans to enable investments in RWAs via stablecoins and fiat currencies through TON-native wallets using its "Gateway" system.

"The launch of the Telegram Bond Fund marks a major step forward in bringing regulated real-world assets to TON’s ecosystem," said Max Crown, TON Foundation CEO and MoonPay co-founder.