Affluent, a decentralized finance (DeFi) mini app built on The Open Network (TON), has launched as Telegram's first native DeFi lending application. The app integrates directly into Telegram's messaging platform, offering users lending pools and yield strategies without leaving the app. Co-founded by Justin Hyun, former director of the TON Foundation, and Hyung Lee of B-Harvest, Affluent targets both retail savers and institutional liquidity providers within Telegram's vast ecosystem of over 900 million users.
The project introduces a points program incentivizing user engagement, starting with deposits into the TON Multiply Vault, designed as a stablecoin-denominated delta-neutral engine for risk-adjusted yield. Affluent aims to transform Telegram into a financial super app, similar to WeChat, by blending messaging, payments, and financial services in one interface.
While Telegram distanced itself from TON in 2020 due to regulatory challenges, it formally endorsed TON as its blockchain of choice for Web3 infrastructure in September 2023. This backing has accelerated development, with Affluent representing a significant step toward integrating DeFi into Telegram's daily user experience.
Separately, Telegram has taken measures against illicit activities by shutting down thousands of channels linked to Chinese marketplaces Xinbi and Huione, which were involved in billions of dollars of illicit transactions using USDT.