- Libre, a tokenization protocol backed by several big institutional players and powered by Polygon’s CDK, has gone live.
- At launch, the first-of-its-kind institutional-facing Ethereum Layer 2 chain will offer users access to alternative and money market funds.
- Polygon has teased that more major institutional players are coming to the network.
In January 2024, some of the biggest names in blockchain institutional adoption sparked significant excitement within the Polygon (MATIC) ecosystem by announcing plans to launch the first-ever TradFi-focused Ethereum Layer 2 using Polygon’s tech stack, the CDK.
Just over two months later, the protocol dubbed Libre has gone live, offering eligible investors access to alternative investments and money market funds while teasing more exciting features in the near future.
Polygon (MATIC)-Powered Libre Goes Live
Backed by Laser Digital, a subsidiary of Japan’s largest investment bank, Nomura Group, WebN Group, an incubation hub backed by alternative investment giant Brevan Howard, Brevan Howard itself, Hamilton Lane, and tokenization pioneer Avtar Sehra, Libre, the tokenization-focused Layer 2 geared at driving institutional blockchain adoption has gone live, offering institutions a platform to tokenize and issue alternative investments compliantly.
At launch, Libre offers users access to the Brevan Howard Master Fund (BHMF) and a USD money market fund powered by BlackRock. In addition to alternative investments and money market funds, Libre also plans to eventually introduce other features like collateralized lending, according to Sehra.
"Libre's objective is to provide unprecedented access to top-tier alternative investments complemented by provisioning scalable value-add services, such as the money market facility that we have launched, followed by our collateralized lending service targeted for later this year."
Meanwhile, Libre is also working on “Libre Gateway” to integrate other tokenization protocols and onboard more professional and institutional investors.
The Libre launch comes as Polygon Head of Institutional Capital Colin Butler continues to tease exciting announcements.
More Institutions Coming to Polygon?
In a recent Web3 Unpacked interview, Butler enthused that a lot of exciting developments in terms of Polygon onboarding institutions were coming sooner rather than later.
"You're just going to see some real excitement in the not too distant future. That's about all I can say about that. Other than, of course, what's been publicly announced, and people like Franklin Templeton fidelity, like what they've said publicly, I think should be enough to get everybody really excited," he disclosed.
Amid Polygon’s institutional adoption efforts, RWA World’s 2023 report found that the network ranked second among blockchains by the number of tokenization protocols, behind only Ethereum. The network already plays host to funds from Franklin Templeton and Hamilton Lane.
On the Flipside
- Whether Libre will be able to gain traction among institutional investors remains to be seen.
Why This Matters
Institutional adoption has long been one of the biggest desires of crypto industry participants. The Libre chain powered by Polygon represents a massive step towards this ambition. The Libre chain will also share liquidity with the rest of the Polygon ecosystem.
Read this for more Libre:
Polygon to Power the First TradFi-Focused Ethereum Layer 2
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