Wall Street meets DeFi—again. 21Shares just dropped a bombshell filing for a spot ETF pegged to Ondo Finance’s native token, blurring the lines between traditional finance and crypto’s wild west.
Why it matters: This isn’t just another ETF. It’s a direct bridge between institutional capital and a rising star in decentralized finance—Ondo’s token now has a golden ticket to mainstream portfolios.
The cynical take: Because what crypto really needed was another way for hedge funds to over-leverage themselves on volatile assets. But hey—liquidity is liquidity, right?
Bottom line: Whether this fuels Ondo’s adoption or becomes another speculative toy for traders, one thing’s clear—the ETF arms race in crypto is far from over.
ONDO Powers Layer-1 Blockchain Built for Institutional Finance and RWAs
ONDO is the utility token powering Ondo Chain, a layer-1 proof-of-stake blockchain purpose-built for institutional finance and tokenized real-world assets (RWAs).
With a current market cap of $3.5 billion and a circulating supply of 3.1 billion tokens, ONDO is priced at $1.12, down 48% from its December peak of $2.14, per CoinGecko.
Among the token’s notable backers is World Liberty Financial, the Trump-affiliated DeFi platform.
The group purchased $250,000 worth of ONDO in December and currently holds 342,000 tokens, valued at around $383,000, per Nansen data.
Still, ONDO accounts for just 0.2% of the platform’s $208 million portfolio, which leans heavily on stablecoins, wrapped Ether, and Bitcoin.
MASSIVE ALERT: $ONDO is the next institutional darling!
BlackRock didn't align with $XRP and $ONDO by accident – they see what's coming
21Shares ETF filing = institutional floodgates about to OPEN
Smart money is positioning NOW before retail catches up!
pic.twitter.com/qdHxgsq9R4
21Shares’ ETF filing follows a busy month for Ondo Finance. Earlier in July, the protocol acquired SEC-registered broker-dealer Oasis Pro to advance its tokenized securities strategy.
The move, made in collaboration with Pantera Capital, is seen as a bid to bridge traditional finance with blockchain infrastructure.
Oasis Pro, which operates as an Alternative Trading System and SEC-registered transfer agent, has been a FINRA member since 2020.
Ondo’s broader vision was laid out in February with the launch of Ondo Chain, its dedicated blockchain designed to cater to Wall Street firms and institutional-grade tokenization.
The filing comes amid a surge in tokenized real-world asset activity. On-chain RWA value has jumped 58% this year to nearly $25 billion, according to RWA.xyz.
Ethereum currently dominates the space, with 55% of RWA tokenization activity, largely in private credit and U.S. Treasurys.
95% Approval Chance for Spot Solana, XRP ETFS
As reported, Bloomberg’s senior ETF analysts have assigned a 95% chance that the SEC will approve spot ETFs for Solana, XRP, and Litecoin this year, raising their previous odds from 90% amid growing Optimism for institutional crypto products.
They also expect a crypto index ETF tracking multiple assets could gain approval as early as this week, signaling broader access to altcoins for traditional investors.
Beyond ETFs, institutional Bitcoin demand is spreading into corporate treasuries.
As reported, Singapore-headquartered edtech firm Genius Group has doubled its bitcoin holdings to 200 BTC after acquiring 20 BTC last week, part of a wider strategy to build a 10,000-BTC treasury.
Public companies are increasingly adding altcoins like Ether (ETH), Solana’s SOL, and XRP to their treasury strategies, according to a report from Animoca Brands Research.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy popularized this model by holding over 600,000 Bitcoins as a hedge against inflation and currency devaluation.
