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	0.4421USDT	2.46%	62,046,023.60ONDO	137,371	0.4315USDT	0.4473USDT
2	ONDO-USD ONDO-USD	coinbase	AA	0.4423USD	2.51%	27,861,980.09ONDO	44,379	0.4314USD	0.4473USD
3	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	okex	A	0.4421USDT	2.43%	24,995,444.45ONDO	54,083	0.4316USDT	0.4472USDT
4	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	bybit	A	0.4419USDT	2.39%	22,886,821.59ONDO	68,622	0.4316USDT	0.4473USDT
5	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	gateio	A	0.4420USDT	2.39%	19,433,014.25ONDO	28,845	0.4317USDT	0.4474USDT
6	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	whitebit	BB	0.4420USDT	2.43%	13,088,235.54ONDO	26,133	0.4315USDT	0.4474USDT
7	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT_SPBL	bitget	BB	0.4422USDT	2.46%	8,525,813.63ONDO	28,759	0.4316USDT	0.4474USDT
8	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	kraken	AA	0.4424USD	2.43%	7,945,680.60ONDO	10,726	0.4319USD	0.4470USD
9	ONDO-USD ondousd	bitstamp	AA	0.4424USD	2.59%	6,364,355.83ONDO	5,130	0.4312USD	0.4472USD
10	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	kucoin	BB	0.4422USDT	2.43%	6,041,610.33ONDO	13,347	0.4317USDT	0.4471USDT
11	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	binance	AA	0.4424USDC	2.55%	4,527,639.40ONDO	8,314	0.4314USDC	0.4471USDC
12	ONDO-TRY ONDOTRY	binance	AA	21.54TRY	2.38%	3,056,834.61ONDO	6,333	21.04TRY	21.77TRY
13	ONDO-USDC ONDO_USDC	whitebit	BB	0.4418USDC	2.43%	1,907,708.55ONDO	6,434	0.4313USDC	0.4476USDC
14	ONDO-USDC ONDO-USDC	okex	A	0.4422USDC	2.48%	1,802,427.39ONDO	7,129	0.4315USDC	0.4470USDC
15	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	kraken	AA	0.3870EUR	2.72%	1,698,986.65ONDO	3,348	0.3767EUR	0.3910EUR
16	ONDO-EUR ONDO_EUR	whitebit	BB	0.3875EUR	2.89%	1,363,837.16ONDO	4,634	0.3766EUR	0.3913EUR
17	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	bybit	A	0.3852EUR	1.69%	464,100.05ONDO	2,191	0.3789EUR	0.3911EUR
18	ONDO-EUR ONDO-EUR	okex	A	0.3869EUR	2.44%	352,795.84ONDO	1,104	0.3777EUR	0.3910EUR
19	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	bybit	A	0.4416USDC	2.13%	212,756.67ONDO	1,068	0.4324USDC	0.4467USDC
20	ONDO-USD ONDO_USD	cryptodotcom	AA	0.4409USD	1.84%	195,249.10ONDO	2,110	0.4329USD	0.4465USD
21	ONDO-USD ONDO-USD	okex	A	0.4388USD	1.57%	193,243.94ONDO	269	0.4320USD	0.4466USD
22	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC_SPBL	bitget	BB	0.4423USDC	2.41%	144,381.46ONDO	1,004	0.4319USDC	0.4466USDC
23	ONDO-EUR ondoeur	bitstamp	AA	0.3855EUR	2.22%	90,247.94ONDO	46	0.3772EUR	0.4026EUR
24	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	cryptodotcom	AA	0.4405USDT	1.54%	44,248.60ONDO	1,004	0.4338USDT	0.4463USDT
25	ONDO-USDC ONDO-USDC	kucoin	BB	0.4406USDC	1.76%	43,393.20ONDO	249	0.4330USDC	0.4477USDC
26	ONDO-TRY ONDO-TRY	okex	A	21.41TRY	1.52%	17,819.11ONDO	286	21.09TRY	21.63TRY
27	ONDO-IDR ONDOIDR	binance	AA	7,895.00IDR	2.39%	6,454.10ONDO	91	7,711.00IDR	7,948.00IDR
28	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	cexio	BB	0.4279USDT	-3.10%	3,691.84ONDO	1	0.4416USDT	0.4416USDT
29	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	cexio	BB	0.4298USD	-3.20%	122.82ONDO	3	0.4440USD	0.4440USD
30	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	cexio	BB	0.4254USDC	-3.20%	57.54ONDO	1	0.4394USDC	0.4394USDC
31	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	itbit	BB	0.3785USD	0.00%	0ONDO	0	0.3785USD	0.3785USD
32	ONDO-KRW KRW-ONDO	upbit	B	595.00KRW	2.41%	81,238,816.05ONDO	35,786	581.00KRW	600.00KRW
33	ONDO-USDT ondo_usdt	xtpub	-	0.4421USDT	2.43%	72,361,677.48ONDO	22,859	0.4316USDT	0.4472USDT
34	ONDO-KRW ONDO_KRW	bithumbkorea	-	595.00KRW	2.23%	21,593,220.58ONDO	14,348	582.00KRW	600.00KRW
35	ONDO-USDC ONDOUSDC	bitrue	D	0.4422USDC	2.48%	16,106,166.90ONDO	61,827	0.4315USDC	0.4473USDC
36	ONDO-USDT ondo_usdt	lbank	C	0.4423USDT	2.48%	13,496,119.11ONDO	38,015	0.4316USDT	0.4472USDT
37	ONDO-EUR ONDO-EUR	bitvavo	B	0.3869EUR	2.81%	10,295,579.23ONDO	9,332	0.3763EUR	0.3910EUR
38	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	toobit	C	0.4421USDT	2.46%	10,327,262.77ONDO	22,314	0.4315USDT	0.4472USDT
39	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	bitrue	D	0.4424USDT	2.50%	9,970,534.32ONDO	62,337	0.4316USDT	0.4473USDT
40	ONDO-USD ONDOUSD	bit2me	B	0.4421USD	2.36%	7,910,584.69ONDO	10,665	0.4319USD	0.4470USD
41	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	coinw	-	0.4423USDT	2.29%	7,811,850.39ONDO	8,739	0.4324USDT	0.4474USDT
42	ONDO-USDT sONDOUSDT	phemex	C	0.4431USDT	2.40%	7,053,620.60ONDO	7,089	0.4327USDT	0.4480USDT
43	ONDO-USDT ondousdt	huobipro	C	0.4421USDT	2.42%	3,673,575.10ONDO	27,430	0.4316USDT	0.4472USDT
44	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	bingx	D	0.4421USDT	2.46%	3,032,988.59ONDO	98,153	0.4315USDT	0.4470USDT
45	ONDO-USDT ONDOUSDT	mexc	C	0.4422USDT	2.33%	2,597,179.69ONDO	5,517	0.4321USDT	0.4471USDT
46	ONDO-KRW ONDO_KRW	coinone	C	595.00KRW	2.23%	2,136,884.96ONDO	5,497	582.00KRW	599.50KRW
47	ONDO-EUR ONDOEUR	bit2me	B	0.3870EUR	2.72%	1,698,781.63ONDO	3,347	0.3767EUR	0.3910EUR
48	ONDO-USDT ONDO_USDT	bitunix	C	0.4421USDT	2.46%	1,231,912.73ONDO	24,694	0.4315USDT	0.4470USDT
49	ONDO-USDT ONDO-USDT	bigone	-	0.4420USDT	2.50%	620,758.56ONDO	4,838	0.4312USDT	0.4482USDT
50	ONDO-THB THB_ONDO	bitkub	C	14.64THB	1.46%	614,824.67ONDO	621	14.43THB	14.85THB