Latest developments: In an interview with CoinDesk Live from the Ondo Summit, Ondo President Ian de Bode says 2025 marked a breakout year for its core businesses.
- The firm is now a leading issuer of tokenized US Treasuries with more than $2 billion in total value locked up, according to president Ian De Bode.
- Its Global Markets platform for tokenized stocks and ETFs has reached about $600 million in TVL, giving Ondo about 60% market share in that niche, De Bode said.
- Ondo also highlighted partnerships with traditional financial heavyweights including Mastercard and JPMorgan.
The context: Tokenization is still early and revenue is not yet the primary focus.
- De Bode described the current phase as a “land grab”, with banks, asset managers and custodians racing to get assets on the chain.
- He said the priority is to build scalable infrastructure – “the pipes” – before monetization fully kicks in.
- Even at current scale, Ondo’s tokenized products remain small compared to traditional financial markets, he added.
Why it’s important: Ondo is positioning itself beyond asset issuance and towards services.
- The company announced Ondo Perps, a new platform for perpetual futures on stocks and commodities.
- Unlike existing venues that rely solely on stablecoins, Ondo Perps will allow tokenized stocks and ETFs to be pledged as collateral, De Bode said.
- This design is intended to attract market makers, deepen liquidity and enable more sophisticated trading strategies.
Driving demand: Retail adoption outside the US is already emerging.
- De Bode said Ondo’s tokenized equity platform has seen net inflows on all but three days since its launch in September.
- Distribution through crypto wallets and exchanges – including Binance Wallet and a recently announced MetaMask integration – is accelerating uptake, especially in Asia.
- He argued tokenized shares solve real access problems globally, similar to how stablecoins expanded access to US dollars.
What comes next: Ondo’s long-term ambition is on-chain prime brokerage.
- Perpetuals are just the first step towards recreating traditional prime brokerage services on the chain, De Bode said.
- The broader thesis is convergence: investors want a single app to trade crypto, stocks, ETFs and derivatives around the clock.
- Ondo plans to partner with centralized exchanges and wallets to make tokenized traditional assets native to crypto trading workflows.
