Question 1

What is the Ondo Project?

Accepted Answer

Ondo Finance is a platform that bridges traditional financial assets with public blockchain infrastructure through the tokenisation of Real-World Assets (RWAs). It was established to address inefficiencies and access barriers in traditional finance (TradFi) by combining regulated financial instruments with decentralised ledger technology. Ondo’s structure includes a financial arm, which manages tokenised funds, and a technology arm that builds the underlying DeFi protocols and blockchain infrastructure.

The project's core objective is to offer institutional-grade financial products on-chain. This involves issuing tokens backed by familiar financial instruments—such as U.S. Treasuries and money market funds—while maintaining regulatory compliance and ensuring usability across decentralised systems. Ondo Finance has built out a diverse product suite that reflects this mission:

- **OUSG (Ondo Short-Term U.S. Government Bond Fund)**: A tokenised fund backed by short-term U.S. Treasuries and institutional money market funds, including BlackRock’s BUIDL. It provides daily yield, supports instant minting and redemptions in USDC, and traditional redemptions in USD. Available to accredited investors under Regulation D in the U.S., it is deployed on Ethereum, Polygon, and Solana.

- **USDY (Ondo U.S. Dollar Yield Token)**: A tokenised note secured by short-term U.S. Treasuries and bank deposits, structured as debt issued by a bankruptcy-remote entity. It is designed for non-U.S. investors and offers daily yield with on-chain transferability after a hold period. It is available across Ethereum, Solana, Mantle, and integrated into the Cosmos ecosystem via Noble.

- **OMMF (Ondo Money Market Fund)**: A tokenised money market fund combining the price stability of stablecoins with yield distribution. Targeted at institutional settlement and OTC use cases, it allows redemptions in fiat and stablecoins while maintaining a $1 peg. It is issued on Ethereum and integrates with on-chain financial infrastructure.

- **Ondo Chain**: A Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for RWAs, featuring permissioned validators (typically regulated institutions), enshrined oracles, native cross-chain bridging, RWA staking, and gas payments in RWAs. It is designed to meet the operational and compliance requirements of financial institutions.

- **Flux Finance**: A decentralised lending protocol governed by the Ondo DAO, allowing users to lend or borrow stablecoins against tokenised assets such as OUSG. It enables RWAs to be used as composable collateral within DeFi.

- **Ondo Global Markets (OGM)**: A service enabling access to tokenised representations of public securities like stocks and ETFs. These tokens function as messaging instructions for regulated custodians, with the underlying assets held in traditional brokerage accounts. This model allows scalable tokenisation across thousands of listed securities.

Ondo’s ecosystem also includes rOUSG (a rebasing version of OUSG) and fTokens used in Flux Finance. The platform is integrated with institutions including BlackRock, J.P. Morgan (via Kinexys), and PayPal. Custodial and compliance partners include Ankura Trust, Komainu, and Copper. Ondo's products operate across multiple blockchain networks to ensure broad interoperability.

Question 2

Context in the RWA Landscape

Accepted Answer

Ondo Finance is one of the leading platforms in the RWA tokenisation sector, which is increasingly recognised as a way to bring real-world financial instruments onto public blockchains. By May 2025, Ondo reported over $1.25 billion in Total Value Locked (TVL), rising from $192 million in January 2024. This growth reflects increasing demand for tokenised, yield-generating assets—especially in relation to U.S. Treasuries.

In contrast to retail-focused DeFi platforms, Ondo targets institutional participants through a compliance-first approach. Each product is structured for specific legal and regulatory environments: OUSG under Regulation D (U.S. accredited investors), USDY under Regulation S (non-U.S. investors), and OMMF for global stablecoin holders. Ondo Chain addresses infrastructure limitations through validator-level KYC and embedded proof-of-reserve mechanisms.

Ondo’s cross-chain deployment strategy allows its products to function within decentralised ecosystems while maintaining links to traditional financial infrastructure. With integrations across over 100 entities—including wallets, DeFi protocols, custodians, and asset managers—Ondo positions itself as a foundational layer for institutional RWA adoption.

Question 3

What is the ONDO Token?

Accepted Answer

The ONDO token is the governance and utility token of the Ondo Finance ecosystem. It was launched as an ERC-20 token on Ethereum and is interoperable across multiple blockchains, including Ondo Chain.

Its primary function is to support decentralised governance through the Ondo DAO. ONDO holders can propose and vote on protocol changes, including those affecting Flux Finance. Governance follows a model derived from Compound’s Governor Bravo framework, with a 100 million ONDO proposal threshold, a 1 million ONDO quorum, and a three-day voting window, followed by a one-day execution delay.

The token distribution prioritises long-term development and participation. Allocation includes 52.1% for ecosystem growth, 33% for protocol development, 12.9% for private investors, and 2% for public sale participants. Vesting schedules extend to 2029, with major unlocks planned from 2026 onward.

Question 4

What is the ONDO Token Used For?

Accepted Answer

The ONDO token is used primarily for decentralised governance and incentive alignment across the Ondo Finance ecosystem. It is not involved in securing the Ondo Chain, which relies on staking of regulated real-world assets and a permissioned validator framework.

- **Governance Participation**:  
  ONDO holders govern decentralised components of the ecosystem through the Ondo DAO. This includes full voting rights over protocols such as Flux Finance. Governance covers proposals on smart contract upgrades, economic parameters, treasury allocations, asset listings, and other operational decisions. Power is proportional to holdings and can be delegated.

- **Ecosystem Incentives**:  
  A substantial portion of ONDO’s supply is allocated to support developer grants, integrations, liquidity incentives, and strategic partnerships. These distributions are governed by the DAO and designed to accelerate adoption of tokenised financial products.

- **Token Holder Rewards**:  
  ONDO may be distributed to contributors or participants as part of the ecosystem’s growth strategy. While not staked for consensus, the token may be used in DAO-approved reward programmes. ONDO staking may also be available on external platforms, though not as part of any native staking mechanism.

- **Flux Finance Governance**:  
  As the governance token for Flux Finance, ONDO determines protocol parameters, supported collateral, interest models, and treasury strategy. This gives the community direct influence over the risk and utility frameworks of Ondo’s principal DeFi protocol.

ONDO’s current utility is focused exclusively on governance and ecosystem participation. It is not used as collateral or for fee discounts, and it does not secure the network.

Question 5

Why ONDO Is Not Used to Secure Ondo Chain?

Accepted Answer

Ondo Chain is a Layer 1 blockchain purpose-built for the tokenisation of real-world assets. Although it is a proof-of-stake (PoS) chain in structure, it does not use ONDO as the staking asset. Instead, validators are required to stake tokenised real-world assets—such as OUSG and USDY—which are yield-bearing and fully backed.

This model is tailored to institutional finance. By using on-chain representations of U.S. government securities and similar instruments, Ondo Chain avoids the volatility of crypto-native tokens. It aligns more closely with institutional risk management standards and provides a stable security base for the chain.

Validator participation is restricted to approved, regulated institutions. Ondo Chain employs a permissioned validator set to ensure compliance, minimise extractive behaviours like MEV, and maintain operational predictability. This design reflects Ondo’s objective to deliver compliant, finance-grade infrastructure.

ONDO plays no role in securing the chain. It is not staked, does not confer validator rights, and is excluded from the consensus layer. Its functions are limited to governance and ecosystem incentives. This is not a limitation, but a deliberate architectural decision to separate governance from network security and to structure validation around institutional-grade assets.

Question 6

Who Created Ondo (ONDO)?

Accepted Answer

Ondo Finance was co-founded in 2021 by Nathan Allman and Pinku Surana, both of whom previously worked at Goldman Sachs. Nathan Allman serves as CEO and is the project's primary public representative. The leadership team includes individuals with experience at McKinsey, BlackRock, and other major financial institutions, highlighting the project’s institutional orientation.

The Ondo Foundation—formerly Neptune Foundation—is an independent, non-profit entity registered in the Cayman Islands. It is responsible for overseeing decentralised components of the ecosystem. The Foundation conducted the ONDO token public sale via CoinList in 2022, launched the Ondo DAO, and supports growth initiatives such as grants and protocol development. It also holds equity in Ondo USDY LLC, the issuer of the USDY token.

Ondo has raised funding from major venture capital firms. Its $4 million seed round in 2021 was led by Pantera Capital. In 2022, a $20 million Series A was co-led by Pantera and Founders Fund. A further ~$22 million was raised through its public token sale. Other backers include Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, Wintermute, and GoldenTree Asset Management.

This combination of strategic funding, institutional alignment, and regulatory focus positions Ondo Finance as a key infrastructure provider in the expanding market for tokenised real-world assets.

#	Instrument	Exchange	Benchmark Score	Price	24h Change	24h Volume	24h Trades	24h Open	24h High
1	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	binance	AA	0.4673USDT	-6.26%	62,017,828.90ONDO	154,961	0.4985USDT	0.5024USDT
2	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	okex	A	0.4674USDT	-6.28%	24,479,444.21ONDO	59,856	0.4987USDT	0.5024USDT
3	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	bybit	A	0.4672USDT	-6.26%	24,444,388.96ONDO	74,493	0.4984USDT	0.5023USDT
4	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	gateio	A	0.4673USDT	-6.26%	20,883,105.87ONDO	33,905	0.4985USDT	0.5024USDT
5	ONDO-USD ONDO-USD	coinbase	AA	0.4671USD	-6.19%	19,562,669.47ONDO	34,930	0.4979USD	0.5019USD
6	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	whitebit	BB	0.4675USDT	-6.20%	12,912,118.23ONDO	18,262	0.4984USDT	0.5023USDT
7	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	kraken	AA	0.4668USD	-6.25%	9,769,942.13ONDO	12,749	0.4980USD	0.5018USD
8	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT_SPBL	bitget	BB	0.4672USDT	-6.34%	6,840,725.12ONDO	27,542	0.4988USDT	0.5023USDT
9	ONDO-USDC ONDO-USDC	okex	A	0.4671USDC	-6.22%	6,604,554.65ONDO	16,671	0.4981USDC	0.5019USDC
10	ONDO-USD ondousd	bitstamp	AA	0.4668USD	-6.25%	5,822,933.82ONDO	4,869	0.4980USD	0.5016USD
11	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	kucoin	BB	0.4685USDT	-6.00%	4,643,267.39ONDO	23,415	0.4984USDT	0.5023USDT
12	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	binance	AA	0.4666USDC	-6.38%	3,062,439.20ONDO	6,609	0.4984USDC	0.5018USDC
13	ONDO-TRY ONDOTRY	binance	AA	23.04TRY	-6.15%	2,713,213.20ONDO	3,847	24.55TRY	24.73TRY
14	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	kraken	AA	0.4175EUR	-6.66%	2,064,898.05ONDO	3,546	0.4473EUR	0.4500EUR
15	ONDO-USDC ONDO_USDC	whitebit	BB	0.4672USDC	-6.24%	1,563,629.71ONDO	7,155	0.4983USDC	0.5019USDC
16	ONDO-EUR ONDO_EUR	whitebit	BB	0.4176EUR	-6.43%	1,091,479.42ONDO	4,875	0.4463EUR	0.4503EUR
17	ONDO-EUR ONDO-EUR	okex	A	0.4170EUR	-6.59%	720,962.80ONDO	2,937	0.4464EUR	0.4495EUR
18	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	bybit	A	0.4348EUR	-2.69%	290,160.89ONDO	964	0.4468EUR	0.4500EUR
19	ONDO-USD ONDO_USD	cryptodotcom	AA	0.4671USD	-6.24%	216,200.70ONDO	17,451	0.4982USD	0.5018USD
20	ONDO-EUR ondoeur	bitstamp	AA	0.4182EUR	-6.69%	153,455.41ONDO	356	0.4482EUR	0.4490EUR
21	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	bybit	A	0.4670USDC	-6.21%	156,562.03ONDO	1,267	0.4979USDC	0.5014USDC
22	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC_SPBL	bitget	BB	0.4683USDC	-6.84%	52,260.21ONDO	365	0.5027USDC	0.5027USDC
23	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	cryptodotcom	AA	0.4671USDT	-6.41%	49,211.20ONDO	14,132	0.4991USDT	0.5023USDT
24	ONDO-USDC ONDO-USDC	kucoin	BB	0.4681USDC	-6.28%	38,059.40ONDO	283	0.4995USDC	0.4999USDC
25	ONDO-TRY ONDO-TRY	okex	A	23.10TRY	-6.10%	21,308.14ONDO	224	24.60TRY	24.72TRY
26	ONDO-IDR ONDOIDR	binance	AA	8,338.00IDR	-7.35%	11,906.80ONDO	126	8,999.00IDR	8,999.00IDR
27	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	cexio	BB	0.4677USDT	-8.92%	82,411.39ONDO	14	0.5135USDT	0.5135USDT
28	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	cexio	BB	0.4915USDC	-6.21%	52.45ONDO	1	0.5241USDC	0.5241USDC
29	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	cexio	BB	0.4913USD	-6.96%	46.28ONDO	1	0.5280USD	0.5280USD
30	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	itbit	BB	0.3785USD	0.00%	0ONDO	0	0.3785USD	0.3785USD
31	ONDO-USDT ondo_usdt	xtpub	-	0.4673USDT	-6.26%	72,241,969.44ONDO	23,375	0.4985USDT	0.5024USDT
32	ONDO-KRW KRW-ONDO	upbit	B	632.00KRW	-5.95%	70,196,729.32ONDO	34,680	672.00KRW	678.00KRW
33	ONDO-USDT ondo_usdt	lbank	C	0.4674USDT	-6.22%	24,104,329.20ONDO	53,305	0.4984USDT	0.5023USDT
34	ONDO-KRW ONDO_KRW	bithumbkorea	-	632.00KRW	-6.23%	23,770,608.42ONDO	12,019	674.00KRW	678.00KRW
35	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	bitrue	D	0.4684USDC	-5.96%	17,203,926.50ONDO	68,976	0.4981USDC	0.5021USDC
36	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	bitrue	D	0.4687USDT	-6.00%	10,497,249.90ONDO	69,466	0.4986USDT	0.5024USDT
37	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	toobit	C	0.4674USDT	-6.24%	10,212,850.78ONDO	25,774	0.4985USDT	0.5024USDT
38	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	bit2me	B	0.4671USD	-6.21%	9,389,427.61ONDO	12,266	0.4980USD	0.5018USD
39	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	coinw	-	0.4677USDT	-6.20%	7,622,992.61ONDO	8,270	0.4986USDT	0.5023USDT
40	ONDO-USDT sONDOUSDT	phemex	C	0.4683USDT	-5.94%	6,299,964.40ONDO	7,008	0.4979USDT	0.5032USDT
41	ONDO-EUR ONDO-EUR	bitvavo	B	0.4174EUR	-6.46%	5,384,972.70ONDO	6,643	0.4462EUR	0.4492EUR
42	ONDO-USDT ondousdt	huobipro	C	0.4674USDT	-6.22%	3,675,722.41ONDO	29,770	0.4984USDT	0.5020USDT
43	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	bingx	D	0.4674USDT	-6.31%	2,970,902.32ONDO	101,083	0.4989USDT	0.5022USDT
44	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	mexc	C	0.4671USDT	-6.17%	2,786,237.07ONDO	5,689	0.4978USDT	0.5015USDT
45	ONDO-KRW ONDO_KRW	coinone	C	631.50KRW	-6.31%	2,462,189.93ONDO	6,010	674.00KRW	677.50KRW
46	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	bit2me	B	0.4175EUR	-6.66%	1,831,290.24ONDO	3,476	0.4473EUR	0.4500EUR
47	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	bitunix	C	0.4675USDT	-6.20%	1,084,142.64ONDO	27,177	0.4984USDT	0.5024USDT
48	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	bigone	-	0.4691USDT	-5.65%	501,612.49ONDO	4,762	0.4972USDT	0.5037USDT
49	ONDO-TRY ONDOTRY	btcturk	E	23.11TRY	-6.04%	467,413.90ONDO	616	24.60TRY	24.74TRY
50	ONDO-THB THB_ONDO	bitkub	C	15.69THB	-6.94%	365,416.57ONDO	396	16.86THB	16.86THB