Ondo launches new execution network, calling it 'evolution' of Ondo Chain

Ondo Finance, focused on tokenizing real-world assets, has launched the Ondo Network, a new execution layer designed to combine centralized exchange-like speed with non-custodial trading and onchain settlement.

The new network is being announced publicly for the first time, Ondo CEO Ian De Bode told The Block. He described it as the "evolution" of Ondo Chain, the company's previous blockchain.

Asked whether the Ondo Network is effectively replacing Ondo Chain, De Bode said it is "the implementation of what we originally set out with the Ondo Chain."

"I'd frame it more as an evolution, but we will not be running the Ondo Network and the Ondo Chain in parallel," he said.

Why Ondo changed course

Ondo originally planned to build a full blockchain through Ondo Chain to bring real-world assets onchain. However, while developing the Ondo Perps exchange and speaking with customers, the company concluded that execution, rather than settlement, was the main bottleneck.

According to Ondo, traditional blockchains perform execution, verification, and settlement on the same ledger, providing durability and trust but making them too slow and transparent for high-performance trading. The Ondo Network instead separates execution from settlement and verification while keeping users in control of their assets.

"The Ondo network is a new type of architecture that tries to land at a different configuration so that privacy is enabled by default, execution speed can rival centralized exchanges, while still maintaining the self-custodial design, verifiable fairness and permissionless access that makes blockchains so powerful," De Bode said.

Asked how verification and settlement work under the new architecture, De Bode said a decentralized network of attestors determines which code the secure hardware enclaves are allowed to run, effectively verifying that the approved code is being executed. Asset transfers currently settle on Ethereum, with support for additional public blockchains planned.

"Over time, the network will also commit the settled state to public blockchains to allow for a durable and immutable record (similar to how Lighter does it). Right now, that record only lives within the enclaves," De Bode said.

Ondo said the network is general-purpose and could support applications beyond perpetual futures, including spot markets, lending, structured products and non-financial applications that require fast, private and verifiable execution.

Ondo Perps is the first application built on the network. The platform offers 24/7 perpetual futures tied to equities and commodities, with tokenized real-world assets supported as collateral.

ONDO token

The launch does not change the role of the (ONDO) token, De Bode said. He said it remains the governance and ecosystem token for Ondo's real-world asset and markets infrastructure.

"As the Ondo Network decentralizes (more attestors, watchers, economic security), ONDO is what will sit at the center of incentives and governance for that layer," De Bode said.

The ONDO token is currently trading at around $0.40, making it the 41st-largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of nearly $2 billion, according to The Block's ONDO price page.