SEC Closes Ondo Finance Investigation With No Charges Amid Changing Regulatory Landscape
Ondo Finance announced that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed a years-long investigation into the company with no charges filed. The probe, which began in 2024 during the Biden administration, focused on Ondo's activities related to tokenization of real-world assets and its ONDO governance token. Ondo cooperated fully throughout the investigation and stated it was not a justified target.
The ONDO token, serving as a governance token, was priced around $0.47 at the time of reporting, reflecting a 3.7% increase on the day, but representing a roughly 77% decline over the past year from a peak near $214 in December. Ondo Finance reported having tokenized over 100 assets, and its fund of short-term U.S. debt held about $774 million as of Monday.
The SEC's stance on tokenization has evolved since Gary Gensler's resignation, with noted past enforcement actions including a 2023 clash over whether a tokenized Pokémon card could be classified as a security. Although the SEC has dropped more than a dozen inquiries and lawsuits this year, tokenization remains an active agenda item. Nasdaq is seeking a rule change related to this area while SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has called for clearer legal frameworks.
Industry observers such as Paul Atkins have suggested that financial markets could increasingly move towards blockchain-based systems in the coming years, a shift that continues to drive regulatory discussions about tokenization.
