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Figure Heloc TAC Secures $11.5M to Bridge Ethereum DeFi with Telegram’s Billion-User Base
David Rich 
Here’s a more human-written, journalistic rewrite of the article—designed to flow like a tech feature or crypto news piece for readers who want depth without sounding like a press release:
In a move that could significantly reshape the DeFi landscape, blockchain startup TAC has raised $11.5 million to bring decentralized finance into the heart of Telegram’s massive ecosystem.
The funding—split between earlier seed financing and a newly closed $5 million strategic round—was led by Hack VC, a venture capital firm known for backing Web3 infrastructure. According to the fund, the team behind TAC isn’t just technically sound; they’re strategically positioned to open the doors of Ethereum’s DeFi world to Telegram’s 1.2 billion users.
“At Hack VC, we look for teams that can actually scale the internet of the future,” said Ed Roman, Managing Partner at Hack VC. “TAC’s vision of combining Ethereum’s DeFi with Telegram’s global user base is both timely and massive in potential.”
TAC is a purpose-built blockchain that acts as a bridge between Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)-compatible decentralized applications and the Telegram Open Network (TON), the blockchain layer integrated into Telegram. Its mission is to help established DeFi protocols like Curve, Morpho, and Euler become native parts of the Telegram experience.
The project is currently in its DevMainnet phase, and it’s not just hype — real deployment is already underway. Over 20 leading DeFi applications are prepping for full mainnet integration. When TAC officially launches, these apps will be ready to serve users from day one with real liquidity and proven infrastructure.
One of TAC’s major strategic levers is its liquidity initiative, dubbed “The Summoning.” Before even going public, the campaign has secured over $700 million in total value locked — a staggering figure for a network that hasn’t yet hit mainnet. This money isn’t just symbolic; it will go directly toward powering yield-bearing applications, markets, and trading tools from launch day.
According to TAC CEO and co-founder Pavel Altukhov, the idea is to meet users where they already are. “We’re giving Ethereum developers the ability to seamlessly bring their apps into the Telegram ecosystem,” he explained. “It’s about making DeFi usable by everyday users, not just crypto natives.”
The bigger picture here is one of convergence. Telegram, often seen as a messaging app, is increasingly positioning itself as a kind of Web3 superapp — with mini apps (TMAs) now integrating everything from payments to games to DeFi protocols. Projects like Curve and Morpho have already launched their own TMAs, making it possible for users to interact with complex DeFi tools without ever leaving the Telegram interface.
“Going live on Telegram and TON via TAC allows Curve to reach an entirely new audience — people who aren’t already in DeFi,” said Curve founder Michael Egorov. “TAC is doing it the right way by using battle-tested Ethereum infrastructure.”
TAC is designed from the ground up to make Ethereum apps plug-and-play inside Telegram. With full EVM compatibility and deep liquidity, the chain acts as a kind of translator between DeFi complexity and the simpler interfaces that mainstream users prefer.
And that’s exactly the bet investors are making: that simplifying the way people access DeFi — and bringing it into a familiar app like Telegram — could finally drive the mass adoption the industry has been chasing for years.
The TAC mainnet is expected to roll out in full later this year. When it does, it won’t just be another chain — it could be the DeFi gateway for a billion new users.
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