Ondo Finance Launches SEC-Aligned Model for Tokenized U.S. Stocks and ETFs

Ondo Finance, a protocol focused on tokenizing real-world assets, is seeking to extend blockchain-based access from securities into derivatives. Single-stock perpetual contracts track the price of an equity without an expiry date, offering continuous exposure outside traditional market structures. Allowing such products in the US would test whether existing securities and derivatives rules can accommodate a growing class of onchain financial instruments.

Ondo submitted a comment letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, arguing that current securities laws can support single-stock perpetual products without an entirely new regulatory framework. The company already offers stablecoin-settled US stock perpetuals to users outside the country and is urging the two agencies to bring that activity onshore, where trading could operate under US regulatory oversight.

Ondo Finance specializes in tokenizing real-world assets, using blockchain infrastructure to provide exposure to traditional instruments including U.S. Treasuries, stocks and exchange-traded funds. The company has disclosed only about $34 million from equity financing and token sales, yet oversees billions of dollars in tokenized assets. That gap has made Ondo a closely watched example of a capital-efficient infrastructure provider as financial institutions increasingly explore onchain markets.

As of July 31, 2026, Ondo Finance was considering an acquisition valued at as much as $500 million to broaden its product lineup, add capabilities and increase scale. The potential price is nearly 15 times the roughly $34 million Ondo has publicly raised through financing and token sales. No target, funding structure or completion timetable has been disclosed, and the deliberations have not yet resulted in an announced transaction.

The tokenization of real-world assets, or RWAs, is a major trend bridging traditional finance and Web3. Ondo Finance, a leading name in the sector, has long focused on tokenizing high-quality assets such as U.S. Treasuries. Because traditional securities trading depends heavily on central depositories, the ability to connect tokenized assets with established clearing systems while safeguarding legal rights has become a key dividing line for large institutional investors considering entry into the market.

Ondo Finance announced on July 15, 2026, the launch of what it called the first tokenized stocks backed by entitlements at the U.S. Depository Trust Company, initially supporting Circle shares and an S&P 500 ETF. The project connects the tokenized securities to the established depository system through U.S. broker Alpaca Markets. The compliance breakthrough sent the ONDO token up 17% within 24 hours.

Tokenized stocks can bring U.S. equities and ETFs onto public blockchains, but holders previously received mostly economic exposure, including price movements and dividends. Unlike clients of traditional brokerages, they generally had limited access to corporate documents and voting. Ondo Finance's new feature adds a shareholder-governance component, helping narrow the rights gap between onchain assets and traditional securities while strengthening transparency and trust in the RWA market.

Ondo Finance announced a partnership on April 28, 2026, with Broadridge Financial Solutions, which processes more than $15 trillion in securities each day. Ondo accounts for about 70% of the tokenized equities market, with more than $700 million in total value locked across the related assets. Holders can use crypto wallets to receive regulatory filings and issuer communications and submit proxy-voting preferences, which Broadridge will aggregate and process.

Blockchain.com has partnered with Ondo Finance to offer traditional stocks and ETFs as onchain tokens, giving investors access to U.S. equities through a cryptocurrency platform. The tokenized securities market continues to grow, while the U.S. SEC's review of potentially easing some DeFi rules has drawn greater attention to the development of cross-border, round-the-clock trading.

As of July 20, 2026, Blockchain.com had added 173 tokenized stocks and ETFs, taking the total number of related assets on its platform to more than 430. The new products include a SpaceX token and investment baskets focused on themes such as AI infrastructure. The companies also expect that the SEC's repeal of certain rules would further lower barriers to trading U.S. stocks on DeFi platforms.

Exodus is a self-custody crypto wallet provider founded in 2015, while Ondo Finance specializes in real-world asset tokenization and has about $2.7 billion in assets across its products. Their move to bring traditional stocks and exchange-traded funds onto Solana reflects growing competition among wallet providers to become gateways to onchain securities. It also highlights the distinction between tokens and actual equity ownership.

The companies launched Exodus Markets on June 12, 2026. After updating to the latest version of the app, eligible users in select markets could trade more than 200 tokenized stocks, ETFs and other real-world assets directly within the wallet. Tokenized stocks had a market capitalization of about $3.5 billion at the time, up more than 139% over 30 days. The tokens, however, did not represent ownership of the underlying securities and carried no shareholder rights.

Ondo Finance, whose business centers on tokenized U.S. Treasuries, stocks and ETFs, is bringing traditional assets onto blockchain networks. The global tokenized-asset market has surpassed $30 billion, while Invesco manages about $2.5 trillion. Hiring an executive with expertise in ETFs and institutional distribution reflects a shift in competition from individual assets toward onchain investment portfolios.

Ondo Finance said on June 11, 2026, that it had appointed John Hoffman as managing director and head of portfolio solutions. He previously worked at Grayscale Investments and spent nearly 20 years at Invesco. Hoffman will develop baskets of tokenized assets and proprietary strategies. In less than eight months, Ondo’s tokenized-stock offering has expanded to 260 assets and surpassed $1 billion in total value locked.

Tokenized stocks map interests in U.S. equities or ETFs onto a blockchain, allowing eligible investors to hold, trade and use them in DeFi outside traditional brokerages. Binance launched stock tokens including Tesla in April 2021 but discontinued the service that July amid scrutiny from Britain’s FCA and Germany’s BaFin. The return underscores how real-world assets have become a new battleground for exchanges.

On February 24, 2026, Binance announced a partnership with Ondo Finance to add 10 tokenized U.S. stocks, ETFs and commodity-linked products—including Apple, Tesla, Nvidia and Invesco QQQ—to Binance Alpha and Wallet. Ondo’s tokenized-stock market was worth about $605 million at the time, with cumulative trading volume exceeding $11 billion since its September 2025 launch.

Tokenized stocks represent interests in US equities as blockchain tokens, allowing investors to gain exposure to traditional assets through cryptocurrency exchanges. MEXC and Ondo Finance began offering the products in September 2025. The tokens use Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard, while the underlying shares are held in regulated trust accounts and audited quarterly. Ondo had issued about $2.66 billion in assets at the time of reporting.

On March 3, 2026, MEXC announced its ninth batch of listings, adding 17 spot trading pairs spanning technology, healthcare and finance, with zero trading fees for the first 30 days. On March 4, it listed another seven tokenized defense and energy stocks, including Lockheed Martin, RTX, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum. Withdrawals opened on March 5.

Ondo Finance packages U.S. stocks and ETFs as equity-linked notes and puts them onchain, a form of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization that gives investors access to traditional securities through crypto platforms. Binance halted its stock token service in 2021 amid regulatory pressure in the UK and Germany. As it returns to the sector, the global tokenized stock market has surpassed $1 billion.

On February 24, 2026, Binance listed 10 Ondo tokenized stocks, ETFs and commodity-linked products on its Alpha platform, including Apple, Nvidia and Invesco QQQ. The products are not available to U.S. users. On March 3, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market approved them for trading on Binance’s regulated market. Ondo has recorded more than $11 billion in cumulative trading volume and over $600 million in total value locked.