Ondo Finance token gains momentum on tokenization buzz

DeFi protocol Ondo Finance’s token is extending its gains this week in the wake of its launch of tokenized versions of U.S. stocks and ETFs on Ethereum. The tokens are also rising in tandem with the overall crypto market, driven by the strong possibility of a Federal Reserve rate cut decision next week.

At the time of publication, ONDO has surged nearly 9% in the past 24 hours to $1.09. The token has also seen an uptick of 17.51% in the last seven days.

Ondo launches tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Ethereum

The world is ready for tokenization.

“I do think this time is different, in part because you have a lot of stablecoin liquidity out there, onchain adoption is real. DeFi exists now, it didn't exist back then. So I think the time really is now to start moving all of this… pic.twitter.com/1sXDGtRC2Q

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) August 17, 2025

Ondo Finance’s token gains on Thursday follow last week’s launch of tokenized versions of more than 100 U.S.-listed stocks, ETFs, and other equities on ETH. The firm launched the tokens via the Ondo Global Finance platform and made them available for non-U.S. investors only.

Investment analyst at Fisher8 Capital, Lai Yuen, argued that the protocol’s price hike is likely driven by excitement around the tokenized stocks. He also acknowledged that onboarded partners and advisors for Ondo’s Global Markets have helped the platform grow by $160 million in TVL in just nine days.

As of September 11, on-chain data showed that total value locked reached $1.56B, with a market cap of roughly $3.5 billion. Yuen maintained that Ondo’s long-term outlook remains bullish. 

Yuen believes that even if the protocol captures 10% of the stock market, it would result in significant profit generation for Ondo token holders. He added that Ondo’s regulatory moat, bolstered by its advisory board, will provide a durable long-term advantage that will be difficult for competitors to replicate.

On September 3, the company revealed that real assets will back all the tokens being offered. The protocol said it plans to do what stablecoins have done for dollars for securities, making the tokenized assets available globally and accessible for trade outside of typical market hours.

“Ondo’s launch of Global Markets is impactful because it delivers on tokenization, where many earlier efforts fell short. This combination of regulated backing and seamless blockchain access addresses the regulatory, liquidity, and interoperability hurdles that limited previous attempts at tokenized securities.”

-Jamie Elkaleh, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitget Wallet.

The company also plans to expand its tokenization beyond Ethereum to blockchains like BNB Chain, Solana, and Ondo Chain. According to Ondo, the initiative is backed by some of the largest crypto wallets, including OKX Wallet, Trust Wallet, MEXC, Bitget Wallet, Morpho, and Ledger. 

The firm also plans to include over 1,000 U.S.-listed securities, from individual equities to fixed-income ETFs. Ondo said its tokenized stocks and ETFs will offer the same liquidity as the underlying security, allowing immediate, low-slippage buying and selling.

BlackRock plans to tokenize ETFs 

The spike in Ondo token comes as the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, revealed Friday plans to bring exchange-traded funds (ETFs) into the blockchain. According to a Bloomberg report, the company aims to tokenize ETFs tied to real-world assets such as stocks, subject to regulatory considerations.

Following BlackRock’s success in its spot Bitcoin ETFs, the funds have outnumbered public-listed stocks as the most popular investment vehicles. There are currently more than 4,300 ETFs, roughly 100 more than the 4,200 U.S.-listed companies. According to Morningstar, ETFs also account for around 25% of the total universe of investment vehicles, including mutual funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts.

The asset manager already manages the world’s largest tokenized money market fund, the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). BUIDL holds around $2.2 billion in assets across Ethereum, Polygon, Aptos, Avalanche, and other blockchains.

JPMorgan believes tokenization is a significant leap for the $7 trillion money market fund industry. The financial institution cited the initiative launched by Goldman Sachs and Bank of New York Mellon, which BlackRock plans to join at launch.

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