Libre, a joint venture between WebN Group and Nomura's Laser Digital, launched an initiative bringing three high-profile funds to the Aptos platform, according to a press release shared with BSCN.

The three funds now accessible on Aptos include:

• Brevan Howard Master Fund – A leading hedge fund with extensive global reach.

• Hamilton Lane's Senior Credit Opportunities Fund (SCOPE) – A private credit fund focused on providing institutional-grade credit opportunities.

• BlackRock ICS Money Market Fund – One of the world’s largest money market funds, offering stable liquidity options.

Combined, these funds manage over $91 billion in assets, making this launch a landmark event for Aptos.

Libre's Gateway on Aptos 

Libre serves as the backbone for connecting Real World Assets (RWAs) like private markets and alternative assets with the blockchain. Its decentralized application (DeFi dApp), the Libre Gateway, facilitates compliant access to these funds on Aptos. This system enables accredited and institutional investors to:

• Trade on-chain.

• Engage in collateralized lending.

• Access secondary trading services.

Libre’s CEO, Dr. Avtar Sehra, describes the integration of Libre with Aptos as a major step in democratizing access to public blockchain wealth management tools.

Why Aptos? 

Aptos is known for its high-performance, institutional-grade infrastructure, positioning it as a leader in decentralized finance (DeFi). By utilizing the Move DM technology, Aptos reportedly offers a secure and scalable platform for financial services.

“Libre is leveraging Aptos Ascend, a product developed by Aptos Labs to provide a gateway to deliver new asset classes and financial services to users, to ensure they benefit from the reliability and sophistication of TradFi paired with the decentralization and fundamental security enabled by Move on Aptos,” said Mo Shaikh, Co-Founder & CEO of Aptos Labs. “It’s a best of both worlds situation, supported by Aptos Labs’ innovation.”

Libre plans to expand the services offered through its Gateway on Aptos. These services will include enhanced features for secondary trading and improved mechanisms for collateralized lending, offering greater flexibility to investors. 

Additionally, Libre will roll out its Market Neutral Fund, which has already been oversubscribed before its official Q4 launch.

While Aptos is the latest blockchain to receive Libre’s portfolio of tokenized funds, it is not the first. Libre has already deployed similar assets on the Solana and Near blockchains.

Growing Trend of Tokenization 

The tokenization of assets is no longer a concept limited to theory. According to Dune Analytics, over $1.6 billion worth of securities had been tokenized as of September 2024. This trend is expected to grow exponentially, with Citi projecting the tokenization market could reach up to $5 trillion by 2030.

Tokenization offers clear advantages in terms of accessibility, liquidity, and compliance, aligning traditional finance with the decentralization ethos of blockchain.