Deng Tong, Jinse Finance
On December 9, 2025, Ondo Finance announced that the SEC's secret investigation into Ondo has concluded without any charges. "This investigation aimed to examine whether Ondo's tokenization of certain real-world assets complies with federal securities laws, and whether ONDO tokens are securities."
I. Ondo Finance Official Blog Post
A Significant Step Forward in Tokenized Securities in the US
Ondo Finance has received formal notification that a years-long secret investigation by the SEC, initiated during the Biden administration and rigorously scrutinizing digital asset companies, has concluded without any charges.
This investigation aimed to examine whether Ondo's tokenization of certain real-world assets complies with federal securities laws, and whether ONDO tokens are securities. Ondo fully cooperated with the investigation. Ondo firmly believes that regulated and transparent tokenization models like Ondo's not only comply with investor protection principles but also strengthen them.
This moment is not only a significant milestone for Ondo, but also for the entire tokenization industry. When the investigation began in 2024, the regulatory environment for digital assets in the United States was cautious, chaotic, and occasionally prone to over-enforcement. It was against this backdrop that Ondo: The first and largest tokenization platform for U.S. Treasury bonds; One of the few companies focused on large-scale tokenized listed stocks; Quickly gained favor with global investors. Early start and success naturally attract scrutiny. At a time when cryptocurrency exchanges were collapsing and speculative tokens were rife with policy discussions, Ondo was building practical, easy-to-use, and regulated financial products using public blockchains. As a result, these innovators, dedicated to developing the safest assets in traditional finance, found themselves embroiled in broader enforcement actions. Ondo's growth and leading position in the emerging tokenization field have made us a focus of attention, but not a reasonable target for investigation. With the conclusion of the investigation, we will continue to uphold our consistent principles and remain firmly committed to innovation, compliance, security, and investor protection.
Washington's Shift: The Path to Tokenized Securities Becomes Clearer
This decision also reflects a broader shift in U.S. policy. Regulators are reassessing Biden-era policies on digital assets. Washington has begun to reverse or moderate some of the aggressive measures taken by the previous administration, recognizing that innovation and investor protection are not mutually exclusive. Tokenization is now formally on the agenda of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC's Investor Advisory Committee is assessing how tokenization can revolutionize the issuance, trading, and settlement processes of publicly traded stocks, a stark contrast to the SEC's enforcement-first stance in recent years. The market has already provided the answer; the adoption of tokenization technology is accelerating. Tokenization of US Treasury bonds has become one of the fastest-growing on-chain asset classes, while the recently launched tokenization of stocks has also shown strong growth momentum. The US infrastructure is continuously evolving to support tokenization. Ondo's recent acquisition of Oasis Pro, gaining brokerage, alternative trading system (ATS), and transfer agent licenses, provides a fully regulated business foundation in the US tokenized securities space. The resolution of the SEC investigation marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another for Ondo. In short, the time is ripe for tokenized securities to become a core component of the US capital markets. The future of global finance, including the US capital markets, will move on-chain, and Ondo will lead this transformation. So what's next? On February 3, 2026, we will share the next phase of our roadmap at the Ondo Summit in New York, where we will bring together leading regulators, policymakers, and executives from the traditional financial sector to articulate our vision for a new era of on-chain finance.
II. Overview of Ondo's Development
On July 27, 2021, Ondo Finance officially launched. Founded by Nathan Allman and Pinku Suran, Ondo aims to "accelerate the adoption of DeFi among mainstream investors by enabling sophisticated risk trading." The protocol officially launched on the day of its release, offering four vaults at launch. Ondo's goal is to "bring institutional-grade financial products and services to a broad user base" by tokenizing traditional financial assets (such as US Treasury bonds, money market funds, bonds, stocks/ETFs, etc.), allowing ordinary users to access the returns and liquidity of traditional financial assets.
Ondo's development trajectory clearly demonstrates a strategic upgrade from DeFi infrastructure to a core player in RWA, and its two major version iterations are a microcosm of the industry's transformation.
Ondo's development trajectory clearly shows a strategic upgrade from DeFi infrastructure to a core player in RWA, with its two major version iterations being a microcosm of the industry's transformation.
Ondo V1: Focused on DeFi Infrastructure Ondo V1 was already running on Ethereum upon launch, making it the first implementation of the protocol with Vault and Liquidity as a Service (LaaS) as its core products. The following significant developments occurred during the development of this implementation: In November 2021, Ondo partnered with Fei Protocol to launch Liquidity as a Service (LaaS), designed to replace the traditional liquidity mining model. LaaS allows projects to increase the liquidity of tokens on decentralized exchanges. Projects can deposit tokens into Ondo's liquidity vault, and Fei will match them with an equivalent amount of FEI stablecoins. Ondo expanded its LaaS service through the following partnerships: In December 2021, Ondo partnered with Frax Finance to expand its LaaS offerings. Frax Finance used its FRAX stablecoin to provide liquidity for tokens such as AMP. In May 2022, Ondo partnered with Angle Protocol to expand its LaaS offerings. Angle Protocol used its agEUR stablecoin to provide liquidity for tokens such as PAL. It's worth noting that Ondo V1 has ceased service; from March 5, 2024, users can only withdraw funds from it. Ondo V2: Becoming a Core Player in RWA Ondo V2 officially launched in January 2023 and is the second implementation of the protocol. The following significant developments occurred during the development of this implementation: In January 2023, Ondo announced the launch of three tokens backed by US Treasury bonds and corporate bonds. Although OSTB and OHYG have ceased issuance, the Ondo US Government Bond Fund (OUSG) remains the most widely circulated token on Ondo. In January 2023, Ondo announced the launch of Flux Finance (Flux) and initiated the Ondo DAO to manage Flux. In February 2023, Flux officially launched, and the first proposals using ONDO tokens were approved. In April 2023, Ondo announced the establishment of the Ondo Money Market Fund (OMMF). In August 2023, Ondo announced the launch of Ondo USD Yield (USDY). In November 2023, Ondo launched the Ondo Bridge. In January 2024, the Ondo Foundation proposed unlocking the “global lock-up” of ONDO tokens. This proposal included official details regarding the allocation, use, and future unlocking plans for ONDO tokens. The adoption of this proposal marked the “public offering” of ONDO tokens. In January 2024, the Ondo Foundation announced the Ondo Points program and launched the “first wave” later that month. In February 2024, Ondo announced its plans for Ondo Global Markets (Ondo GM), a platform that will allow users to access traditional securities on-chain through tokenization. In March 2024, Ondo Finance launched a 24/7/365 instant subscription and redemption service for OUSG, and a significant portion of OUSG's assets were transferred to BlackRock's BUIDL Treasury Fund. In February 2025, Ondo Global Markets officially launched. The announcement stated that tokens issued by Ondo GM would be backed 1:1 by the underlying assets. In March 2025, TVL reached $1 billion, thanks to compliance-first customer acquisition, a partnership with BitGo, and smart contracts compliant with US regulations. In June 2025, the team announced the formation of a global market consortium aimed at "harmonizing industry standards and promoting interoperability of tokenized securities," with members including the Solana Foundation, Bitget Wallet, Jupiter, Trust Wallet, Rainbow Wallet, BitGo, Fireblocks, 1inch, and Alpaca. In October 2025, Ondo submitted a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposing amendments to Nasdaq's rules regarding tokenized securities trading. III. Ondo's Secret: Seizing Every Market Opportunity Looking at the timeline above, from DeFi to RWA, and now to the SEC's conclusion of its investigation, Ondo has seized every market opportunity, which may be the secret to its continued popularity. In June 2020, the DeFi Summer exploded, with Compound launching its governance token COMP and initiating a liquidity mining mechanism—users could earn COMP token rewards for lending and borrowing on the Compound platform. This innovative model quickly ignited market enthusiasm, becoming the core driving force behind the DeFi Summer. However, by the second half of 2021, the unsustainability of liquidity mining became apparent: continued mining would lead to token inflation, while halting it would lead to liquidity depletion. Ondo recognized the pain points of the crypto market and launched "Liquidity as a Service": Projects deposit their native tokens into Ondo's dedicated liquidity pools within flexible timeframes, based on their own needs. Ondo then pairs these tokens with equivalent asset pools provided by partner entities such as Frax, Fei, and Angle, creating compliant and balanced liquidity pairs. These paired liquidity pairs are then placed on designated decentralized exchanges to inject trading liquidity into the project's native tokens, ensuring smooth trading. Upon expiration of the partnership, Ondo withdraws the corresponding liquidity and mining profits from the exchange. It first returns the assets to the project, pays the pre-agreed fixed interest to the partner, and then returns the remaining profits to the project. At this point, Ondo acts as a DeFi infrastructure provider, solving the unsustainability problem caused by liquidity mining. In 2022, Terra's algorithmic stablecoin UST and its native token LUNA experienced a death spiral collapse, triggering a DeFi trust crisis overnight. Against this backdrop, Ondo turned its attention to the RWA (Retail Asset Management) sector, which was experiencing a real surge and rapid development. In 2023, Ondo V2 was launched, with its core product being tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds (OUSG). OUSG's core underlying asset is BlackRock's iShares Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF, ensuring both security and liquidity, giving OUSG a low-risk profile. OUSG can be integrated with DeFi protocols like Flux Finance that support compliant, licensed assets. After acquiring the tokens, investors can transfer ownership between each other and conduct lending and other financial activities through compliant smart contracts. The launch of OUSG demonstrated the feasibility of tokenizing low-risk traditional financial assets. The SEC, led by Gensler, had frequently targeted the crypto market, and the industry experienced a regulatory "winter" two years prior. In October 2023, the SEC launched an investigation into Ondo. The SEC's core investigation focused on whether Ondo's tokenization process of its US Treasury products complied with securities regulations and whether ONDO tokens should be considered securities. This investigation lasted for two years. On October 6, 2025, Ondo Finance completed its acquisition of Oasis Pro, an SEC-licensed brokerage firm. This acquisition aimed to help Ondo advance its tokenized securities business within a compliant framework. On December 6, ONDO submitted its tokenized securities roadmap to the SEC, advocating for support for multiple asset ownership models and promoting broader on-chain integration to help the US maintain its leading position in asset tokenization. Following its compliance efforts, Ondo was not charged, a significant regulatory boon for the crypto industry. Conclusion From DeFi to RWA, and now to compliant development, Ondo has accurately grasped industry trends and seized every opportunity presented by emerging trends. Now, with the SEC's investigation concluded, Ondo is completely free from regulatory constraints. Where will Ondo set its sights in the future? Perhaps the New York summit in February 2026 will provide us with an opportunity to find out.
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