Ondo and Axelar Join Forces for Ondo Bridge

Tokenized secure note issuer Ondo Finance and Web3 cross-chain platform Axelar came together Monday, November 13th to unveil Ondo Bridge, a cross-chain mechanism designed to facilitate easy transfers of Ondo tokens across blockchains.

“A superior and safer yield-generating stablecoin”

“Demand for better stablecoins is growing – and it isn’t limited to a single Web3 ecosystem,” said Nathan Allman, founder and CEO of Ondo. “The Ondo Bridge enables us to meet that demand wherever it exists, with a superior and safer yield-generating stablecoin.”

In April 2023, Ondo Finance released a USDY, “the world’s first tokenized note secured by US Treasuries and bank deposits.” 

“Crypto is all about financial inclusion, and we are thrilled to offer a yield-bearing product with mature financial structuring and investor protections to both individual and institutional investors,” said Nathan Allman, CEO of Ondo Finance, at the time of the note’s release. “USDY will expand the universe of investors seeking to save and spend in a more global and digitally-native manner by sharing the yield and providing improved transparency and security over conventional stablecoins.” 

Ondo Bridge will support the issuance of these yield-bearing tokens, fostering liquidity while ensuring price stability.

“Real World Assets in a safe and efficient manner”

Moreover, Ondo Bridge possesses a “burn-and-mint” system that serves an innovative strategy in regards to mitigating risk from traditionally wrapped assets. 

“We have partnered with Axelar and incorporated their state-of-the-art multi-chain communications primitives together with a novel Ondo risk management layer to help Ondo tokenholders bridge Real World Assets (RWAs) in a safe and efficient manner,” states Ondo Finance’s website.

“Axelar’s programmable cross-chain platform will enable Ondo to easily and automatically manage USDY supply, burning tokenized representations of its real-world assets (RWAs) on one chain in order to mint them on another,” read a press release for the new technology.

“Tools to achieve better products for their users”

The program, inspired by Circle’s Cross-Chain Transfer Protocol, promises enhanced security and price stability. Supporting over fifty blockchain networks, the Web3 platform will utilize its own cross-chain liquidity router, Squid, to support the bridge.

According to DefiLlama, Ondo Financed is valued at over $200 million. Currently, USDY is valued at over $35 million.

“Native stablecoins are preferred over wrapped versions, but managing supply across multiple chains is complex,” said Sergey Gorbunov, CEO and co-founder of Axelar Inc. “Together, Axelar and Ondo are pioneering a solution that gives stablecoin innovators tools to achieve better products for their users.”