coindesk.com
Ondo Finance ONDO$0.3314 launched blockchain-based versions of BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) and Micron Technology (MU) shares in a structure designed to operate within the existing U.S. securities system, based on the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) staff statement for third-party tokenized securities in the U.S.
The company said Thursday the tokenized securities are issued on Ethereum through Oasis Pro TA, an SEC-registered transfer agent Ondo acquired last year. Financial infrastructure provider Broadridge (BR) will handle proxy voting, regulatory disclosures and shareholder communications, allowing token holders to receive the same governance rights as investors who own the securities through traditional brokerage accounts.
Importantly, the product is not yet available to U.S. investors.
Ondo said it is the first production deployment of the SEC's custodial tokenization model, using two securities to demonstrate that blockchain-based securities can fit within the current U.S. regulatory and custody framework.
"Ondo has built the regulatory, product, and service infrastructure to support all major models within the United States," Ian De Bode, CEO of Ondo Finance, said in a statement.
"Today's milestone shows we can tokenize securities in ways that meet both market and regulatory requirements, for U.S. and global investors and provides a strong foundation for our expanding access to onchain investments for more U.S. investors," he added.
Tokenization, or the process of representing traditional assets as blockchain-based tokens, has emerged as one of the fastest-growing areas blurring digital assets and traditional finance. Supporters say it can modernize capital markets through faster settlement, around-the-clock trading and easier movement of assets across financial platforms. A report by Citi projected that tokenized securities could reach $5.5 trillion market size by 2030.
Debate around tokenization models
The launch follows the SEC's January staff statement on tokenized securities, which outlined how a third-party custodial model could comply with existing securities laws. SEC staff statements don't have the full weight of formal guidance approved by the agency's commissioners, but do indicate how the regulator is thinking about issues like tokenization.
Under that approach, a regulated intermediary holds conventional shares in custody and issues blockchain-based tokens representing a holder's entitlement to those assets. That's an alternative approach to the issuer-sponsored tokenization, where the issuer of the underlying security is involved in the process.
The agency's guidance coincided with a growing debate over whether tokenized stocks issued without issuer involvement confer the same rights as traditional shares. The topic drew broader attention when OpenAI said last year it did not authorize Robinhood's tokenized offering tied to its shares and warned the tokens did not represent equity in the company.