Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane Invest in Libre: A New Tokenization Platform

• New Tokenization Platform, Libre, Spearheaded by Industry Titans
• Libre Emerges with a Powerful Leadership and Technical Foundation
• Adopting Public Blockchain and Aiming for Full Decentralization
• Building Compliance into the Decentralized Infrastructure
• Libre's Roadmap for the Future
• Aiming to Reduce Operational Costs
• The Origins of Libre

New Tokenization Platform, Libre, Spearheaded by Industry Titans

Libre, a fresh tokenization platform, is the product of a collaboration between Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, and Nomura's Laser Digital. Founded upon the Polygon$0.967 -3.65% CDK and led by tokenization trailblazer Avtar Sehra, the startup counts pillars of institutional crypto investment such as Nomura's Laser Digital, WebN group of Brevan Howard, and the private markets behemoth Hamilton Lane as its founding partners and inaugural users, the companies announced on Wednesday.

Libre Emerges with a Powerful Leadership and Technical Foundation

The platform surfaces from inception, led by Avtar Sehra, a pioneer in tokenization. It is built on Polygon CDK, which is the blockchain development kit of the Ethereum$2,315 -2.42%-based scaling network. In contemporary times, tokenization, that is, the development of a digital counterpart of a real-world asset (RWA) on the blockchain, is gaining steam.

Adopting Public Blockchain and Aiming for Full Decentralization

Major financial corporations focused on tokenization seem to concur that public blockchains are the future, even if they are hesitant to fully commit to it just yet. Libre sets its sights on total decentralization from the get-go, drawing inspiration from the progress of decentralized finance (DeFi). This means that the two most crucial types of institutions - issuers and distributors, can engage fully on chain without reliance on any other platform.

Building Compliance into the Decentralized Infrastructure

Sehra emphasized the need for compliance to be built into the decentralized infrastructure. The approach is not restricted to applying KYC and AML in the form of a single flag to indicate whether a user has been whitelisted or not. The process requires finesse to align the right user with the right instrument. This involves considering variables such as the type of instrument being issued, the eligible holders, its marketing strategies, and the categories of investors it can be offered to in different jurisdictions.

Libre's Roadmap for the Future

Libre intends to commence operations in the first quarter with a hedge fund type of asset, similar to those Brevan Howard specializes in. From the Hamilton Lane perspective, a private credit fixed-income type product is planned, remarked Sehra. Subsequently, the roadmap for the rest of the year includes collateralized lending and separately managed accounts, thereby enabling users to balance portfolios on-chain.

Aiming to Reduce Operational Costs

Over time, our goal is to bring operational costs down to nearly zero, from an average of around 100 basis points for an alternative asset, stated Sehra. The objective is to start generating revenue on the protocol purely from value-added web services such as collateralized lending and secondary transfers, amongst others.

The Origins of Libre

Libre is an offshoot of the WebN Group, a breeding ground for fintech and Web3 innovation. It is supported by Alan Howard, a co-founder of Brevan Howard, and Laser Digital.

Edited by Jonathan Stoker