21Shares, an issuer of exchange-traded funds, has put forth a proposal to US regulators for a fund that aims to track the spot prices of ONDO, the native token for Ondo Finance, a decentralized finance protocol. On Tuesday, 21Shares submitted a preliminary prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the 21 Share-On Trust. This fund intends to directly hold ONDO tokens and monitor their performance using the CME CF Ondo Finance-Dollar reference rate, with Coinbase managing the token’s custody.
The fund will act as a passive investment option, steering clear of any speculation or leverage involved. Participants who are approved can create or redeem shares either in cash or through in-kind exchanges. Ondo itself operates on a Layer 1 proof-of-stake blockchain focused on facilitating financial markets and tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs).
With a market capitalization of $3.5 billion, Ondo has a total supply of 10 billion tokens, of which 3.1 billion are currently in circulation. The token’s current price is $1.12, having dropped 48% from its all-time high of $2.14 recorded in December, according to Coingecko.
Connection to Trump
The Trump family’s decentralized finance platform, World Liberty Financial, has shown support for Ondo Finance and included ONDO tokens in its inventory. Last December, the platform purchased ONDO valued at $250,000 and currently holds about 342,000 tokens, worth approximately $383,000, as reported by Nansen. Still, it’s interesting to note that Ondo Holdings, associated with the Trump Debt platform, comprises just a sliver—0.2%—of its $208 million portfolio, which primarily consists of stable ether (ETH) and bitcoin (BTC).
Emphasis on Institutional Tokenization
Earlier this month, Ondo Finance acquired SEC-registered broker-dealer Oasis Pro, intending to launch tokenized securities in partnership with Pantera Capital. Oasis Pro is registered as an alternative trading system and transfer agent, allowing it to manage ownership of securities effectively. It has been an SEC member since 2020, lending credibility to its operations.
The announcement of Ondo Chain, aimed at allowing Wall Street companies to tokenize RBAs, was made in February.
Surge in RWA ONCHAIN Value
This year, the value of tokenized real-world assets on-chain has witnessed a remarkable rise, soaring by 58% to nearly $25 billion, as stated on rwa.xyz. A significant portion of these assets is primarily made up of private credit, tokenized on Ethereum, with the US Treasury Department holding a 55% market share.
