Ondo Drops Layer-1 Plan and Launches Private Trading Network
Ondo is leaning into privacy and institutional trading for tokenized assets, with Ondo Perps as the first use case. The network is also expected to support spot trading, lending, and settlement later on.
Key Takeaways
- Ondo Finance is abandoning its plan for a standard layer-1 blockchain and shifting to a private trading network built for institutional tokenized asset trading.
- Ondo Network keeps order execution private and settles final transfers on public blockchains, with Ondo Perps as the first live application.
- According to rwa.xyz, the company oversees billions in tokenized assets and received FINRA approval last week for regulated markets and tokenized securities.
Ondo Finance is moving away from its original layer-1 blockchain plan and instead building a private trading network designed to better serve institutional tokenized asset trading. The company says Ondo Network is the next phase of its earlier Ondo Chain idea, and Ondo Perps is already live as the network’s first application.
From Blockchain to Trading Network
The change makes clear that Ondo is no longer trying to build a broad, general-purpose blockchain for institutional finance. Instead, it is focusing on a system built around speed and privacy. The company says a traditional public blockchain was not a great match for professional trading, where order flow, positions, and activity do not always need to be visible to the wider market.
Ondo Network is built to split execution from settlement. Orders are processed privately, while the final movement of assets happens on public blockchains. The goal is to keep the settlement benefits of blockchain while giving traders more control over what information is exposed.
Perps and Tokenized Collateral
Ondo Perps is the first app on the network, and it is designed to make perpetual futures work with tokenized assets as collateral. That fits a broader trend in which perpetual futures, long a crypto-native product, are increasingly being used around traditional assets such as stocks, oil, and gold.
The move also comes as tokenization is getting more attention on Wall Street. Converting assets like stocks, bonds, and funds into blockchain-based tokens is widely seen as a way to modernize capital markets with faster settlement and trading that can run around the clock. That fits the broader institutional push toward tokenized markets, as Wall Street Makes Tokenization a Strategic Priority explains.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto readers, the key point is that Ondo is no longer just focused on issuing tokenized assets. It is also building the trading layer around them. That could be important for firms watching how tokenization, DeFi, and regulated markets are starting to overlap.
Ondo also says the network could eventually expand into spot markets, lending, structured products, and settlement infrastructure. According to rwa.xyz, the company already manages about $2.6 billion (€2.3 billion) in tokenized U.S. Treasury products through OUSG and USDY, along with about $850 million (€748 million) in tokenized equities. Its broker-dealer also received FINRA approval last week to offer regulated markets and services tied to tokenized securities.
