Affluent Launches Native DeFi Lending App on Telegram

Affluent, a new decentralized finance (DeFi) app built on The Open Network (TON), has launched as a mini app within Telegram, enabling users to invest in crypto assets directly through the popular messaging platform. Co-founded by Justin Hyun, former director of the TON Foundation, and Hyung Lee, the app offers lending pools, crypto yield strategies, and a Strategy Vault feature that supports assets like Bitcoin, stablecoins, tokenized private credit, gold, and U.S. Treasury products. Affluent aims to transform Telegram into a "financial super app" by integrating DeFi seamlessly into a platform with over 900 million users, mirroring successful models like WeChat by combining messaging and financial services. The app also introduces an Affluent Points program to incentivize user activity, such as depositing into the TON multiply vault. Despite Telegram's earlier regulatory setback with TON's native token, Gram, the platform formally endorsed TON in September 2023, accelerating ecosystem development and enabling projects like Affluent to embed crypto asset management within Telegram’s interface. By simplifying crypto savings and providing deep liquidity access for both retail and institutional users, Affluent represents a significant step in mainstreaming DeFi through a familiar communication app.