Tokenized asset specialist Ondo Finance has abandoned plans to build a conventional layer-1 blockchain, instead introducing a trading network that it says is better suited to the next wave of onchain financial assets.
Called the Ondo Network, the system marks a shift from the company’s February 2025 vision for the Ondo Chain, a blockchain for institutional finance and real-world tokenized assets. After building its new perpetual futures platform, Ondo Perps, the firm said it concluded that a traditional blockchain was not the best tool to handle the speed and privacy institutional trading requires.
Ondo Perps is the first application to use the network, with plans to offer tokenized assets as collateral for trading.
The pivot comes as tokenization gains momentum across Wall Street. Tokenization – the process of representing traditional assets such as stocks, bonds and funds as blockchain-based tokens – is gaining traction as companies seek to modernize capital markets with faster settlement and round-the-clock trading. At the same time, perpetual futures, once largely confined to crypto markets, are expanding into traditional assets such as stocks and commodities such as oil and gold.
In addition to issuing tokenized assets
Ondo has emerged as one of the sector’s largest issuers with around $2.6 billion in tokenized US Treasuries across OUSG and USDY and around $850 million in tokenized shares, according to rwa.xyz. The firm’s broker-dealer last week obtained FINRA approval to launch regulated markets and services for tokenized securities.
