Launched in 2023, the SEC probe into Ondo’s tokenized RWAs and ONDO token ended without charges, signaling a regulatory reset for onchain assets.
News
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has officially dropped its investigation into the New York-based tokenization platform Ondo Finance, which it initiated in 2023.
Ondo Finance has received formal notice that a confidential, multi-year SEC investigation into the platform has been closed without any charges, the company on Monday.
“The probe examined whether Ondo’s tokenization of certain real-world assets complied with federal securities laws as well as whether the ONDO token was a security,” the statement said.
The SEC’s decision to end the investigation reflects a broader shift in the US policy regarding , bringing it on the authority’s formal agenda, Ondo noted.
A new chapter of tokenization in the US
to a report by Crypto in America, the SEC initially opened the probe in October 2023 under former , who was known for his stringent stance toward the crypto industry.
However, since , the agency has closed a number of crypto-related cases involving major companies, including Coinbase, Ripple and Kraken.
“When the inquiry began in 2024, the US regulatory environment for digital assets was defined by caution, confusion, and occasionally overbroad enforcement actions,” Ondo Finance said in its blog post.
Against that backdrop, Ondo was “one of the only firms focused on tokenizing publicly listed equities at scale,” it said, adding: “Being early, and being successful, came with scrutiny.”
According to Ondo, the resolution of the SEC inquiry marks the end of one chapter for Ondo and the beginning of another, where tokenized securities become a “core part of the US capital markets.”
“The future of global finance, including U.S. capital markets, will be onchain and Ondo will help lead that transition,” Ondo said.
Most US tokenization platforms serve overseas markets
The news comes as most tokenization platforms offer tokenized equity products primarily to customers outside the US, including firms such as , the issuer of xStocks.
While these platforms tokenize major US-listed stocks and , many of the offerings are , particularly in Europe.
“The reality is that users in the US already have relatively seamless access to traditional equities such as stocks and ETFs through well-established brokerage platforms,” Alchemy Pay chief marketing officer Ailona Tsik told Cointelegraph in June.
Following the SEC probe’s resolution, it remains to be seen whether RWA platforms like Ondo will begin offering services to US-based clients.
Related:
The news came shortly after to offer tokenized stocks to European investors in November.
Securitize, a rival US tokenization platform, also regulatory approval to operate as both an Investment Firm and a Trading & Settlement System (TSS) in the EU on Nov. 26. to the company, the approval positioned it as one of the first operators for regulated digital securities infrastructure in both the US and EU.
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