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21Shares has filed a preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Ondo (ONDO) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This proposed "21Shares Ondo Trust" aims to directly hold ONDO tokens, with Coinbase Custody providing secure storage, marking a significant step in bringing tokenized real-world assets to traditional finance.
21Shares Seeks Spot ONDO ETF Approval
On Tuesday, 21Shares submitted an S-1 filing to the SEC for the "21Shares Ondo Trust." This passive investment vehicle is designed to track the spot price of ONDO, the native token of the Ondo Finance decentralized finance protocol, without employing speculation or leverage. The ETF intends to use the CME CF Ondo Finance-Dollar Reference Rate for performance tracking.
Key Takeaways
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Direct ONDO Holdings: The ETF will directly hold ONDO tokens, providing investors with exposure to the asset without direct ownership.
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Coinbase Custody: Coinbase will serve as the custodian for the ONDO tokens, ensuring secure storage.
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Passive Investment: The trust is structured as a passive investment vehicle, focusing on tracking the underlying asset's performance.
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Creation/Redemption Mechanism: Authorized participants will be able to create or redeem shares in cash or in-kind.
Ondo Finance and Real-World Asset Tokenization
Ondo Finance, founded by former Goldman Sachs associates Nathan Allman and Pinku Suran, is a decentralized finance platform established in 2021. Its primary focus is on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs), such as U.S. Treasury bonds and money market funds. The ONDO token is the utility token of Ondo Chain, a layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain designed for institutional-grade financial markets and tokenized RWAs.
Earlier this month, Ondo Finance acquired Oasis Pro, an SEC-registered broker-dealer and Alternative Trading System (ATS). This acquisition aims to expand Ondo's tokenization business and facilitate the launch of tokenized securities, including a partnership with Pantera Capital for a $250 million RWA investment plan.
The Growing RWA Market
The value of tokenized real-world assets on-chain has seen substantial growth this year, surging by 58% to nearly $25 billion. The majority of these assets, primarily private credit and U.S. Treasuries, are tokenized on the Ethereum blockchain, which holds a 55% market share.
ONDO's Market Position and Connections
ONDO currently has a market capitalization of $3.5 billion, with a circulating supply of 3.1 billion out of a total of 10 billion tokens. Its price stands at $1.12, a 48% decrease from its December all-time high of $2.14.
Notably, the Trump family's DeFi platform, World Liberty Financial, has invested in Ondo Finance, holding 342,000 ONDO tokens valued at approximately $383,000. These holdings, however, constitute a small fraction (0.2%) of their total $208 million portfolio, which is predominantly composed of stablecoins and wrapped Ether (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC).
Sources
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21Shares files with SEC for spot ONDO ETF — TradingView News, TradingView.
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21Shares Files with SEC to Launch Spot ONDO ETF with Coinbase Custody, MoneyCheck.
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21Shares files for ONDO ETF, The Block.
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