Affluent, a new mini app developed on The Open Network (TON), is introducing decentralized finance (DeFi) capabilities into the Telegram messaging platform.
Highlights of the Launch:
Affluent has emerged as the first native DeFi application for Telegram, offering users access to lending and yield strategies on the TON blockchain. The platform is designed to cater to both individual savers and institutional liquidity providers within Telegram’s expansive user community.
In an effort to increase user engagement, Affluent has instituted a new points program that begins with incentives for depositing into the TON multiply vault.
The application officially launched on Monday, presenting users with lending pools and cryptocurrency yield strategies in an interface that integrates seamlessly with Telegram, according to an announcement made on X.
Co-founders Justin Hyun, a former director of the TON Foundation, and Hyung Lee from the DeFi research and development group B-Harvest, have set out to establish Telegram as a comprehensive financial platform.
Affluent Appeals to Retail and Institutional Investors in the DeFi Landscape
The initiative aims to streamline crypto savings for individual users while providing significant liquidity access for institutional investors. Affluent positions itself as a means to “bring real, trustless asset management to Telegram’s billion-user ecosystem,” asserting its role as a “smart bank for crypto.”
By adopting strategies that emulate successful super apps like WeChat, which effectively combine messaging, payment processing, and financial services, Affluent seeks to optimize user experience.
This integration of DeFi features directly within a platform hosting over 900 million users mitigates many of the usability barriers that have precluded wider adoption of decentralized finance.
Telegram users will now have the ability to engage with lending and yield products without exiting the messaging app.
To promote user interaction, “Affluent is launching a points program to incentivize users for various activities. The initial action is to deposit into the TON multiply vault,” the project stated.
6/ What’s next?
• USDT Multiply Vault: Stablecoin denominate delta-neutral engine for risk-adjusted yield
• Strategy Vaults composable with BTC, Gold, U.S. Treasury, Tokenized Private Credit
• Payment from your vault: Collateralization and payment from your vault tokens
•…
— Affluent (@AffluentOrg) June 16, 2025
Despite previously distancing itself from TON following regulatory challenges that led to the suspension of its original blockchain plans in 2020, Telegram formally endorsed TON in September 2023. This backing has since propelled development within the ecosystem, with Affluent serving as a significant advancement in the integration of DeFi into the regular experiences of Telegram users.
Telegram Removes Channels Associated with Xinbi and Huione
In May, Telegram took action to dismantle thousands of channels linked to the Chinese-language marketplaces Xinbi Guarantee and Huione Guarantee after a report from blockchain analytics firm Elliptic highlighted their involvement in illicit transactions totaling over $35 billion, largely utilizing the Tether (USDT) stablecoin.
Xinbi has reportedly handled at least $8.4 billion in USDT since 2022, while Huione is responsible for an estimated $27 billion, providing a range of services from fake identification creation to money laundering.
These platforms operate openly within Telegram’s group structure, facilitating connections between vendors and buyers for illegal products and services.
Huione is reportedly connected to the ruling elite in Cambodia and offers goods ranging from personal data to services for hire involving intimidation.
With a user base exceeding 233,000, Xinbi provides solutions in areas such as cryptocurrency laundering, counterfeit documents, SIM cards, and access to stolen databases.
These marketplaces have also become hubs for laundering proceeds from so-called “pig butchering” scams, which involve fraudulent schemes that merge romance or investment traps to extract significant sums in cryptocurrency.
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