Ondo Finance expands onchain offerings with new Layer 1 blockchain

Ondo Finance, a tokenized real-world asset issuer, on Thursday announced the launch of a new Layer 1 blockchain called Ondo Chain, which is designed to accelerate the creation of institutional-grade financial markets onchain.

Ondo Chain will combine the security and compliance features of the types of permissioned blockchains often used by financial institutions with the openness and accessibility of public chains like Ethereum, according to a press release seen by The Block. Several institutions — including Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management and WisdomTree, among others — are joining the Ondo Ecosystem and will advise on the design of Ondo Chain.

"Financial markets are overdue for an upgrade," CEO Nathan Allman stated in the press release. "Ondo Chain is designed to meet the highest institutional standards while remaining open for developers and innovators. It tightly couples onchain and offchain infrastructure, reducing cost, enhancing security, and ultimately enabling a better user experience."

Permissioned validators will verify transactions and ensure accurate, up-to-date data, including asset prices and token backing. Additional features include staking tokenized real-world assets for network security and native omnichain bridging for seamless asset transfers between Ondo Chain and other supported networks.

Earlier this week, Ondo Finance also launched a new platform called Ondo Global Markets, which is designed to open onchain exposure to stocks, bonds and exchange-traded funds.

"What stablecoins did for dollars, Ondo Global Markets will do for securities," Ondo said Tuesday. The tokenization platform will offer exposure to over 1,000 NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed securities, including fixed-income ETFs and individual stocks.

Ondo Finance has a total value locked of over $653 million, according to DefiLlama data.