Ondo Finance just put $1 billion worth of tokenized securities into a structure that fits inside existing U.S. securities law—starting with BlackRock's IVV ETF and Micron shares on Ethereum.
The Custodial Model That Keeps Regulators Happy
Ondo's setup bypasses the issuer-sponsored tokenization that got OpenAI upset when Robinhood tokenized its shares without authorization. Instead, Ondo relies on the SEC's January staff statement on third-party custodial tokenization: a regulated intermediary holds conventional shares in custody, while Oasis Pro TA (an SEC-registered transfer agent Ondo acquired last year) mints one-for-one tokens on Ethereum. The underlying IVV and Micron shares never leave the traditional custody chain.
Broadridge handles proxy voting, regulatory disclosures, and shareholder communications—so token holders get the same governance rights as if they went through a brokerage account. That's a big deal because previous tokenized stock offerings often gave holders nothing but a claim to an offchain IOU.
Why This Blunts the Robinhood-OpenAI Debate
Last year OpenAI publicly disavowed Robinhood's tokenized offering, warning those tokens didn't represent equity. The crux: issuer-sponsored models need the company's blessing to confer real shareholder rights. Ondo's third-party custodial approach sidesteps that entirely—the token is a representation of an existing custody arrangement, not a new security created by the issuer. No need for Micron or BlackRock to approve anything.
Citi's $5.5 trillion forecast for tokenized securities by 2030 assumes models like this scale. Ondo already has over $1 billion in tokenized stocks and ETFs across 430 securities outside the U.S.—this move brings that playbook stateside, albeit with a key restriction.
The Catch: U.S. Investors Still Locked Out
The product is not yet available to U.S. investors. That's the SEC's safe-harbor dance playing out in real time. Ondo CEO Ian De Bode called it a "strong foundation for expanding access to onchain investments for more U.S. investors," but didn't give a timeline. Meanwhile, Robinhood launched its own blockchain and expanded tokenized stocks beyond Europe, while DTCC, Nasdaq, and NYSE all have blockchain initiatives in the works.
If Ondo can navigate that U.S. investor restriction—and keep the SEC comfortable—this custodial model becomes the template for every major ETF and stock to go onchain without blowing up the existing regulatory framework.
Source: Ondo Finance debuts SEC-aligned tokenized stock model with BlackRock ETF, Micron shares
Domain: coindesk.com
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