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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"a092ade3-397f-4b42-980b-dabdc8481348","kind":"publish","page_slug":"ondo-finance","published_at":"2026-05-14T06:02:53.314Z","sequence_num":3,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Ondo Finance","sections":[{"content":"Ondo Finance was incorporated in 2021. CEO Nathan Allman previously worked at Goldman Sachs and ChainStreet Capital, a quantitative crypto hedge fund, and holds degrees from Brown University and Stanford GSB. President Justin Schmidt holds degrees in computer science from MIT, served as Head of Digital Asset Markets at Goldman Sachs, and later as Head of Strategy at institutional crypto trading firm Talos before joining Ondo. The team's institutional finance background is frequently cited by the project and its backers as central to its strategy of building compliance-ready tokenized asset infrastructure.","heading":"Company Overview and Leadership","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"IQ.wiki: Nathan Allman profile","type":"research","url":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/nathan-allman"},{"credibility":2,"name":"TokenInsight: Deep Dive of Ondo Finance","type":"research","url":"https://tokeninsight.com/en/research/reports/deep-dive-of-ondo-finance"}]},{"content":"In April 2022, Ondo Finance raised a $20 million Series A led by Founders Fund and Pantera Capital. Additional participants included Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, Wintermute, GoldenTree Asset Management, Steel Perlot (associated with Eric Schmidt), and Flow Traders. The round was intended to accelerate DeFi product development and team expansion. No subsequent disclosed funding rounds have been reported. The Founders Fund connection is notable given that fund's association with Peter Thiel, a prominent crypto advocate.","heading":"Funding and Investors","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Founders Fund, Pantera Invest in DeFi Investment Bank Ondo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/27/founders-fund-pantera-invest-in-defi-investment-bank-ondo-finance"},{"credibility":1,"name":"PR Newswire: Founders Fund and Pantera Lead $20M Investment","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/founders-fund-and-pantera-lead-20m-investment-in-ondo-finance-to-build-a-decentralized-investment-bank-301533900.html"}]},{"content":"Ondo Finance's primary products are OUSG (Ondo Short-Term US Government Bond Fund) and USDY (US Dollar Yield Token). OUSG provides qualified U.S. purchasers tokenized exposure to short-term U.S. Treasury securities, primarily by holding shares of BlackRock's USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL). OUSG carries a minimum investment threshold substantially lower than BUIDL's direct $5 million minimum, reportedly bringing it to approximately $5,000. USDY is structured as a tokenized note secured by short-term U.S. Treasuries and bank deposits, issued under Regulation S and targeted at non-U.S. investors. Both products generate yield in the range of 3.6-3.75% annually as of late 2025. Both are audited and offer 24/7 minting and redemption mechanics on-chain, with custody handled through Fireblocks and Zodia Custody. Ondo is, by design, a distribution and composability layer on top of BlackRock BUIDL rather than a direct holder of sovereign debt instruments. This structural dependency on a third-party product (BUIDL) has been characterized by critics as a key risk.","heading":"Core Products: OUSG and USDY","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"CCN: How Ondo Finance Turns US Treasuries Into 24/7 Yield Tokens With OUSG and USDY","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.ccn.com/education/crypto/ondo-finance-turns-us-treasuries-into-24-7-yield-tokens-ousg-usdy/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Blockonomi: Inside Ondo Finance - OUSG and USDY Legal Frameworks","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockonomi.com/inside-ondo-finance-how-ousg-and-usdy-tokenize-us-treasuries-through-distinct-legal-frameworks"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: OUSG","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/ousg"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: USDY","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/usdy"}]},{"content":"In October 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) opened a confidential investigation into Ondo Finance. The probe examined whether the protocol's tokenized real-world asset products complied with federal securities laws and whether the ONDO token itself qualified as a security under U.S. law. In late November 2025, Ondo received formal notice that the investigation had been closed without any recommended charges, enforcement action, fines, or required business model changes. The investigation's closure was publicly reported by multiple crypto industry outlets in December 2025. The closure followed a broader shift in SEC posture under Chairman Paul Atkins, who assumed the role in 2025 and oversaw the simultaneous closure or withdrawal of multiple crypto enforcement proceedings including those against Coinbase, Ripple, and Kraken. While the outcome is formally favorable for Ondo, the existence of the investigation over a two-year period, and the questions it raised about the securities classification of tokenized Treasury products, remain part of the protocol's regulatory history.","heading":"SEC Investigation: Initiation and Closure","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: RWA Tokenization News - SEC Ends Probe into Ondo","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/08/ondo-token-gains-as-sec-ends-investigation-into-rwa-tokenization-platform"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Yahoo Finance: What the End of the SEC Ondo Finance Investigation Means for Tokenized Assets","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/end-sec-ondo-finance-investigation-164325106.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto in America: SEC Ends Two-Year Investigation Into Ondo","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptoinamerica.com/p/sec-ends-two-year-investigation-into"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Coinlaw.io: Ondo Finance Cleared by SEC After Two-Year Tokenization Investigation","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinlaw.io/ondo-finance-sec-investigation-closed/"}]},{"content":"Following the closure of the SEC investigation, Ondo Finance filed a no-action letter request with the SEC on April 13, 2026, asking the agency to confirm that its Ondo Global Markets product can operate on Ethereum Mainnet without triggering enforcement action. The request covers tokenized notes representing exposure to U.S. equities and ETFs, held in traditional custody by BitGo with blockchain used only for recording and administration of entitlements. Ondo had originally submitted this request confidentially on December 18, 2025, and later amended it. Separately, Ondo joined a DTCC consortium working on tokenized securities infrastructure and has targeted production trades within that consortium by July 2026. The protocol has also registered as an investment advisor. In March 2026, Franklin Templeton announced a joint tokenized ETF launch with Ondo. These regulatory engagement activities represent an active and unusually proactive approach to compliance among crypto protocols.","heading":"SEC No-Action Letter and Regulatory Expansion","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto Briefing: ONDO Finance files SEC no-action letter, joins DTCC consortium","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/ondo-finance-sec-no-action-dtcc-consortium/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: Ondo seeks SEC clearance for tokenized equities model on Ethereum","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/397258/ondo-seeks-sec-clearance-tokenized-equities-model-ethereum"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC.gov: Ondo Finance No-Action Request - Broker-Dealer Support","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/files/ctf-written-input-ondo-finance-041326.pdf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crowdfund Insider: Ondo Finance Requests SEC No-Action Letter For Ethereum Based Tokenized Securities Model","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/04/273248-ondo-finance-requests-sec-no-action-letter-for-ethereum-based-tokenized-securities-model/"}]},{"content":"In July 2025, Ondo Finance announced an agreement to acquire Oasis Pro, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, alternative trading system (ATS), and transfer agent. The acquisition was completed in October 2025. Oasis Pro, founded in 2019, was among the first U.S.-regulated alternative trading systems authorized to support settlement of digital securities in stablecoins including USDC and DAI alongside fiat currency. The acquisition provides Ondo with what the company described as the most comprehensive set of SEC registrations in the crypto tokenization sector, enabling capital markets activities including private placements, underwriting, and M&A advisory. The Oasis Pro licenses complement Ondo's tokenization stack and are a prerequisite for the company's planned U.S.-facing securities operations.","heading":"Oasis Pro Acquisition","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Blockworks: Ondo Finance finalizes Oasis Pro acquisition","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/ondo-finance-finalizes-oasis-pro-acquisition"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: Ondo Finance to acquire US-regulated broker Oasis Pro","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/361120/ondo-finance-to-acquire-us-regulated-broker-oasis-pro-for-tokenized-securities-expansion"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: Ondo Completes Acquisition of Oasis Pro","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/blog/ondo-acquires-oasis-pro"}]},{"content":"Ondo Global Markets launched on September 3, 2025, offering non-U.S. investors access to over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs including Apple, Nvidia, and QQQ on Ethereum, with plans to expand to over 1,000 assets. The platform subsequently expanded to BNB Chain, Solana, and Hyperliquid's HyperEVM via LayerZero-powered interoperability. The service is restricted to eligible investors in Asia-Pacific, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, and is not available to U.S. persons. Within 48 hours of launch, Ondo Global Markets reportedly accumulated approximately $240 million in TVL, and by October 2025 the platform maintained approximately $320 million. The underlying securities are held at U.S.-registered broker-dealers, and the tokens can be minted and redeemed 24/5.","heading":"Ondo Global Markets","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Ondo Finance Rolls Out Tokenized U.S. Stocks, ETFs as Tokenization Trend Ramps Up","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/03/ondo-finance-rolls-out-tokenized-u-s-stocks-etfs-as-equity-tokenization-ramps-up"},{"credibility":1,"name":"PR Newswire: Ondo Brings Over 100 Tokenized U.S. Stocks and ETFs Onchain","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ondo-brings-over-100-tokenized-us-stocks-and-etfs-onchain-starting-on-ethereum-302545276.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Yahoo Finance: Ondo Global Markets Launches +100 Tokenized Equities on Ethereum","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ondo-global-markets-launches-100-024043617.html"}]},{"content":"On February 6, 2025, Ondo Finance announced Ondo Chain, a permissioned EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain designed for institutional tokenized assets. The announcement was made at the company's inaugural New York summit. The blockchain features a permissioned validator model intended to prevent MEV (maximal extractable value) and front-running, native omnichain bridging, and the ability to stake tokenized real-world assets to secure the network. Design advisors named at announcement included Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management, WisdomTree, Google Cloud, ABN Amro, Aon, and McKinsey. Existing Ondo ecosystem participants named included BlackRock, PayPal, and Morgan Stanley. As of the time of this report, Ondo has not announced an official mainnet launch date for Ondo Chain.","heading":"Ondo Chain Layer-1 Announcement","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Ondo Finance Launches Tokenized RWA-Focused Layer-1 Blockchain","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/02/06/ondo-finance-unveils-layer-1-network-for-tokenized-assets"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Business Wire: Wall Street 2.0 - Ondo Finance Unveils Integrated Infrastructure Suite","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250206421408/en/Wall-Street-2.0-Ondo-Finance-Unveils-Integrated-Infrastructure-Suite-to-Bring-US-Financial-Markets-onto-the-Blockchain"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: Ondo Chain","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/ondo-chain"}]},{"content":"In April 2025, Quinn Thompson, founder and CIO of Lekker Capital, publicly alleged that Ondo Finance's total value locked (TVL) may be artificially inflated. Thompson raised the allegation on X (formerly Twitter), asking whether the team could be selling ONDO tokens and reinvesting the proceeds into the protocol to create the appearance of organic user growth. Thompson had previously criticized Ondo in October 2024, characterizing OUSG and USDY as basic wrappers around BlackRock's BUIDL fund and arguing that Ondo's then-$7 billion fully diluted valuation was unjustified given that the protocol's 0.15% fee rate was waived until 2025, yielding approximately zero revenue. Thompson estimated future annual revenue at approximately $975,000 against a fully diluted valuation implying a 7,000x FDV/revenue multiple for what he described as a low-margin business facing increasing competition. A social media user identified as @TimiBot described Thompson's concerns as an \"open secret\" and circulated an alleged screenshot from a Telegram group purporting to outline suspected TVL mechanics. Ondo Finance did not issue a public statement in response to these allegations in the reporting reviewed. No on-chain evidence or formal independent investigation substantiating or refuting the specific mechanism alleged was identified in the sources reviewed. These claims should be treated as low-confidence allegations originating primarily from social media and are disputed.","heading":"Allegations of Artificially Inflated TVL","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"DeFi Planet: Ondo Finance Faces Scrutiny Amid Allegations of Artificially Inflated TVL","type":"news_article","url":"https://defi-planet.com/2025/04/ondo-finance-faces-scrutiny-amid-allegations-of-artificially-inflated-tvl-following-mantra-scandal/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto.news: Quinn Thompson raises red flags on ONDO amid Mantra token fallout","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/quinn-thompson-raises-red-flags-on-ondo-amid-mantra-token-fallout/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Quinn Thompson on X","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/qthomp/status/1902049288214978662"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Yahoo Finance: Ondo (ONDO) Drops Over 80% While TVL Hits a New All-Time High","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ondo-ondo-drops-over-80-112258021.html"}]},{"content":"The ONDO token has a maximum supply of 10 billion tokens. At launch in January 2024, approximately 15% of the supply was initially circulating, with the remainder subject to a staggered vesting schedule over 60 months. The largest unlock event occurred on January 18, 2025, when 1.94 billion previously locked tokens were released, increasing circulating supply by approximately 135% and triggering a sustained price decline. The token had reached an all-time high of approximately $2.14 in December 2024. After the January 2025 unlock, the price declined from $1.49 in January to $0.99 in February, $0.78 in March, and approximately $0.36 by year-end 2025, representing a roughly 80% decline from peak. A subsequent unlock event in January 2026 added further sell pressure. Approximately 6 billion additional ONDO tokens remained subject to vesting schedules extending through 2029 as of early 2026. The large gap between price decline and TVL growth during the same period contributed to the TVL inflation allegations described in a separate section. The token's concentrated initial distribution to insiders, investors, and team members follows patterns common to venture-backed crypto projects but creates structural sell pressure as cliff and linear unlock events materialize.","heading":"ONDO Token: Tokenomics, Unlock Events, and Price Decline","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Unchained Crypto: Ondo Is About to Unlock 34% More Tokens Than Its Current $1.8 Billion Market Cap","type":"news_article","url":"https://unchainedcrypto.com/ondo-is-about-to-unlock-34-more-tokens-that-its-current-1-8-billion-market-cap/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoRank: Ondo Finance Token Unlocks and Vesting Schedule","type":"research","url":"https://cryptorank.io/price/ondo-finance/vesting"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenomist: Ondo Finance Tokenomics and Vesting Schedule","type":"research","url":"https://tokenomist.ai/ondo-finance"}]},{"content":"Ondo Finance's smart contracts have undergone audits from multiple security firms. A Code4rena (C4) competitive audit conducted between March 29 and April 3, 2024, identified 5 unique vulnerabilities: 1 rated HIGH severity and 4 rated MEDIUM severity. No critical-severity findings were reported in that audit. Ondo maintains a bug bounty program through Immunefi. The protocol also maintains a Trust and Security documentation page disclosing its security philosophy and audit results. One historical security incident was reported from October 2021, involving a smart contract bug that caused incorrect token swaps during an earlier phase of the protocol's operations; no user funds were reported lost due to favorable market conditions following the swap. No major hacks or exploits against the current protocol architecture have been reported in the sources reviewed.","heading":"Smart Contract Security and Audits","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Code4rena: Ondo Finance Audit Report 2024-03","type":"research","url":"https://code4rena.com/reports/2024-03-ondo-finance"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Docs: Smart Contract Audits","type":"official","url":"https://docs.ondo.finance/audits"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Immunefi: Ondo Finance Bug Bounty","type":"official","url":"https://immunefi.com/bug-bounty/ondofinance/information/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Blog: Security Philosophy","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/blog/ondo-security-philosophy"}]},{"content":"Security researchers have documented fraudulent websites impersonating Ondo Finance that are unrelated to the legitimate protocol. A scam operating under the domain rewards-ondofinance[.]app and a variant at ondo-voting[.]com were identified as crypto wallet drainers, falsely claiming association with Ondo Finance to lure users into connecting their wallets. When victims connect their wallets to these sites, malicious smart contract interactions drain cryptocurrency assets. These operations are unrelated to Ondo Finance itself but represent a risk to users who may encounter them via search or social media. Cryptocurrency transactions through these drainers are described as irreversible.","heading":"Third-Party Impersonation Scams","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"PCRisk: ONDO Rewards Scam Removal Guide","type":"community_report","url":"https://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/33666-ondo-rewards-scam"}]},{"content":"As of early 2026, the tokenized U.S. Treasury market exceeded $7.3 billion. Ondo Finance competes primarily with BlackRock's BUIDL fund (approximately $2.9 billion AUM, ~40% market share) and Franklin Templeton's BENJI product. Ondo's USDY and OUSG are meaningfully dependent on BlackRock BUIDL as a backend, with OUSG holding BUIDL shares as its primary asset. This positions Ondo as a distribution and composability layer rather than an independent asset manager. BlackRock BUIDL leads by AUM and DeFi integration depth; Franklin Templeton BENJI offers the lowest fees (0.15%); Ondo USDY offers yield optimization for non-U.S. retail investors. In March 2026, 21Shares filed an S-1 with the SEC for a spot ONDO ETF targeting a Nasdaq listing, using Coinbase Custody as custodian. A pending application for a joint tokenized ETF between Franklin Templeton and Ondo was also reported. The protocol's position as the largest holder of BUIDL shares introduces concentration risk on a single counterparty.","heading":"Competitive Landscape and Market Position","severity":"low","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Gate Blog: The Three Giants of the RWA Sector - BlackRock BUIDL, Ondo, and Franklin Templeton","type":"research","url":"https://miniapp.gate.com/blog/102069/rwa-market-triopoly-blackrock-buidl-ondo-franklin-templeton-tokenized-us-treasury-market-real-world-assets-rwa-competition-onchain-treasuries-institutional-adoption-analysis"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: 21Shares files for ONDO ETF","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/363897/21shares-files-for-ondo-etf"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Yellow.com: Tokenized U.S. Treasuries Hit $7.3B in 2025","type":"research","url":"https://yellow.com/en-US/research/tokenized-us-treasuries-hit-dollar73b-in-2025-complete-guide-to-digital-treasury-bonds"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Founders Fund, Pantera Invest in DeFi Investment Bank Ondo Finance","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/27/founders-fund-pantera-invest-in-defi-investment-bank-ondo-finance"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Ondo Finance Unveils Layer-1 Network for Tokenized Assets","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/02/06/ondo-finance-unveils-layer-1-network-for-tokenized-assets"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: SEC Ends Probe into Ondo","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/08/ondo-token-gains-as-sec-ends-investigation-into-rwa-tokenization-platform"},{"credibility":1,"name":"CoinDesk: Ondo Finance Rolls Out Tokenized U.S. Stocks, ETFs","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/03/ondo-finance-rolls-out-tokenized-u-s-stocks-etfs-as-equity-tokenization-ramps-up"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: Ondo Finance to acquire Oasis Pro","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/361120/ondo-finance-to-acquire-us-regulated-broker-oasis-pro-for-tokenized-securities-expansion"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: 21Shares files for ONDO ETF","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/363897/21shares-files-for-ondo-etf"},{"credibility":1,"name":"The Block: Ondo seeks SEC clearance for tokenized equities model on Ethereum","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/397258/ondo-seeks-sec-clearance-tokenized-equities-model-ethereum"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC.gov: Ondo Finance No-Action Request","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/files/ctf-written-input-ondo-finance-041326.pdf"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC.gov: Ondo Finance Roadmap for Tokenized Securities submission","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/files/ctf-written-input-ondo-finance-120425.pdf"},{"credibility":1,"name":"PR Newswire: Founders Fund and Pantera Lead $20M Investment","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/founders-fund-and-pantera-lead-20m-investment-in-ondo-finance-to-build-a-decentralized-investment-bank-301533900.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Business Wire: Wall Street 2.0 - Ondo Chain Announcement","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250206421408/en/Wall-Street-2.0-Ondo-Finance-Unveils-Integrated-Infrastructure-Suite-to-Bring-US-Financial-Markets-onto-the-Blockchain"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Yahoo Finance: End of SEC Ondo Finance Investigation","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/end-sec-ondo-finance-investigation-164325106.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Yahoo Finance: Ondo (ONDO) Drops Over 80% While TVL Hits New All-Time High","type":"news_article","url":"https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ondo-ondo-drops-over-80-112258021.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Blockworks: Ondo Finance finalizes Oasis Pro acquisition","type":"news_article","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/ondo-finance-finalizes-oasis-pro-acquisition"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto Briefing: ONDO Finance files SEC no-action letter, joins DTCC consortium","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptobriefing.com/ondo-finance-sec-no-action-dtcc-consortium/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"DeFi Planet: Ondo Finance Faces Scrutiny Amid Allegations of Artificially Inflated TVL","type":"news_article","url":"https://defi-planet.com/2025/04/ondo-finance-faces-scrutiny-amid-allegations-of-artificially-inflated-tvl-following-mantra-scandal/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crypto.news: Quinn Thompson raises red flags on ONDO","type":"news_article","url":"https://crypto.news/quinn-thompson-raises-red-flags-on-ondo-amid-mantra-token-fallout/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Code4rena: Ondo Finance Audit Report 2024-03","type":"research","url":"https://code4rena.com/reports/2024-03-ondo-finance"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Unchained Crypto: Ondo ONDO Unlock Analysis","type":"news_article","url":"https://unchainedcrypto.com/ondo-is-about-to-unlock-34-more-tokens-that-its-current-1-8-billion-market-cap/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"CryptoRank: Ondo Finance Token Unlocks and Vesting Schedule","type":"research","url":"https://cryptorank.io/price/ondo-finance/vesting"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Tokenomist: Ondo Finance Vesting Schedule","type":"research","url":"https://tokenomist.ai/ondo-finance"},{"credibility":2,"name":"PCRisk: ONDO Rewards Scam Removal Guide","type":"community_report","url":"https://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/33666-ondo-rewards-scam"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Coinlaw.io: Ondo Finance Cleared by SEC After Two-Year Investigation","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinlaw.io/ondo-finance-sec-investigation-closed/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"IQ.wiki: Nathan Allman profile","type":"research","url":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/nathan-allman"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Gate Blog: Three Giants of the RWA Sector","type":"research","url":"https://miniapp.gate.com/blog/102069/rwa-market-triopoly-blackrock-buidl-ondo-franklin-templeton-tokenized-us-treasury-market-real-world-assets-rwa-competition-onchain-treasuries-institutional-adoption-analysis"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Yellow.com: Tokenized U.S. Treasuries Hit $7.3B in 2025","type":"research","url":"https://yellow.com/en-US/research/tokenized-us-treasuries-hit-dollar73b-in-2025-complete-guide-to-digital-treasury-bonds"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Crowdfund Insider: Ondo Finance Requests SEC No-Action Letter","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2026/04/273248-ondo-finance-requests-sec-no-action-letter-for-ethereum-based-tokenized-securities-model/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Immunefi: Ondo Finance Bug Bounty","type":"official","url":"https://immunefi.com/bug-bounty/ondofinance/information/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Quinn Thompson on X (social media allegation)","type":"social_media","url":"https://x.com/qthomp/status/1902049288214978662"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: OUSG","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/ousg"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: USDY","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/usdy"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Official: Ondo Chain","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/ondo-chain"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Ondo Finance Blog: Oasis Pro Acquisition","type":"official","url":"https://ondo.finance/blog/ondo-acquires-oasis-pro"}],"summary":"Ondo Finance is a real-world asset (RWA) tokenization protocol founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs executives Nathan Allman and Justin Schmidt. The platform offers tokenized exposure to U.S. Treasury securities (OUSG, USDY) and, since September 2025, a broader set of tokenized equities via Ondo Global Markets. The protocol held over $1.8 billion in TVL as of late 2025 and received formal notice in November 2025 that a two-year SEC investigation had been closed without charges.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-01-01","event":"Ondo Finance founded by Nathan Allman and Justin Schmidt, both former Goldman Sachs digital assets executives.","source":"IQ.wiki / TokenInsight","source_url":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/nathan-allman"},{"date":"2021-10-01","event":"A smart contract bug caused incorrect token swaps in an early protocol version; no funds reportedly lost due to favorable market conditions post-swap.","source":"4irelabs.com","source_url":"https://4irelabs.com/cases/ondo-finance/"},{"date":"2022-04-27","event":"Ondo Finance raised a $20 million Series A led by Founders Fund and Pantera Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Tiger Global, Wintermute, and GoldenTree.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2022/04/27/founders-fund-pantera-invest-in-defi-investment-bank-ondo-finance"},{"date":"2024-01-18","event":"ONDO token generation event completed; token transfers enabled after a governance vote. Vesting for locked tokens began on this date.","source":"Ondo Foundation Docs","source_url":"https://docs.ondo.foundation/ondo-token"},{"date":"2023-10-01","event":"SEC opened a confidential investigation into Ondo Finance, examining whether tokenized Treasury products and the ONDO token complied with U.S. securities laws.","source":"CoinDesk / Yahoo Finance","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/08/ondo-token-gains-as-sec-ends-investigation-into-rwa-tokenization-platform"},{"date":"2024-12-01","event":"ONDO token reached all-time high price of approximately $2.14.","source":"LBank / CoinMarketCap","source_url":"https://www.lbank.com/explore/ondo-finance-rwa-platform-tokenizing-treasuries-stocks"},{"date":"2025-01-18","event":"1.94 billion ONDO tokens unlocked, increasing circulating supply by approximately 135% and triggering a sustained price decline.","source":"Unchained Crypto / CryptoRank","source_url":"https://unchainedcrypto.com/ondo-is-about-to-unlock-34-more-tokens-that-its-current-1-8-billion-market-cap/"},{"date":"2025-02-06","event":"Ondo Finance announced Ondo Chain, a permissioned EVM-compatible layer-1 blockchain for institutional RWA tokenization, at its inaugural New York summit.","source":"CoinDesk / Business Wire","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/02/06/ondo-finance-unveils-layer-1-network-for-tokenized-assets"},{"date":"2025-04-14","event":"Quinn Thompson publicly alleged on X that Ondo Finance's TVL may be artificially inflated through team token sales recycled as protocol deposits.","source":"DeFi Planet / Crypto.news","source_url":"https://defi-planet.com/2025/04/ondo-finance-faces-scrutiny-amid-allegations-of-artificially-inflated-tvl-following-mantra-scandal/"},{"date":"2025-07-07","event":"Ondo Finance announced agreement to acquire Oasis Pro, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, ATS, and transfer agent.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/361120/ondo-finance-to-acquire-us-regulated-broker-oasis-pro-for-tokenized-securities-expansion"},{"date":"2025-09-03","event":"Ondo Global Markets launched, offering non-U.S. investors access to 100+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs on Ethereum.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/09/03/ondo-finance-rolls-out-tokenized-u-s-stocks-etfs-as-equity-tokenization-ramps-up"},{"date":"2025-10-07","event":"Security researchers published documentation of crypto wallet drainer scam sites impersonating Ondo Finance (rewards-ondofinance[.]app and ondo-voting[.]com).","source":"PCRisk","source_url":"https://www.pcrisk.com/removal-guides/33666-ondo-rewards-scam"},{"date":"2025-10-07","event":"Ondo Finance completed acquisition of Oasis Pro.","source":"Blockworks / Ondo Finance","source_url":"https://blockworks.co/news/ondo-finance-finalizes-oasis-pro-acquisition"},{"date":"2025-11-01","event":"Ondo Finance received formal notice from the SEC that its two-year investigation had been closed without charges or enforcement action.","source":"CoinDesk / Yahoo Finance","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/12/08/ondo-token-gains-as-sec-ends-investigation-into-rwa-tokenization-platform"},{"date":"2025-12-18","event":"Ondo Finance submitted a confidential no-action letter request to the SEC regarding the Ondo Global Markets product operating on Ethereum Mainnet.","source":"The Block / Crowdfund Insider","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/397258/ondo-seeks-sec-clearance-tokenized-equities-model-ethereum"},{"date":"2026-02-01","event":"21Shares filed an amended S-1 with the SEC for a spot ONDO ETF targeting a Nasdaq listing, with Coinbase Custody as custodian.","source":"The Block","source_url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/363897/21shares-files-for-ondo-etf"},{"date":"2026-04-13","event":"Ondo Finance filed a public no-action letter request with the SEC, joined the DTCC tokenized securities consortium, and announced planned production trades within DTCC by July 2026.","source":"The Block / Crypto Briefing / SEC.gov","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/files/ctf-written-input-ondo-finance-041326.pdf"}]},"v":1}