Ondo Finance is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that aims to bring institutional-grade financial products on-chain. By tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs), like U.S. treasuries and money market funds, Ondo bridges the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and blockchain.

Its mission is to democratize access to low-risk, yield-generating instruments previously limited to institutions — making them available to a broader audience via transparent, compliant, and blockchain-native products.

The native token, $ONDO, is used for governance, staking, and certain protocol utilities.

1. Tokenized Real-World Assets

• Ondo offers tokenized versions of traditional financial instruments, such as USDY, a yield-bearing stablecoin, and OUSG, exposure to U.S. Treasuries via a tokenized Treasury fund.
• These tokens are built to reflect the value of underlying assets (e.g., US Treasuries or money market funds) while offering the benefits of blockchain: on-chain liquidity, composability, and accessibility.
• Redemption and minting of these tokens often require KYC or regulatory checks to comply with traditional financial regulation.

2. Lending & Borrowing with Flux Finance

• Ondo launched Flux Finance, a lending/borrowing protocol that supports RWAs: users can lend out or borrow stablecoins (like USDC) against tokenized treasuries such as OUSG.
• This allows users to leverage their RWA exposure in DeFi while maintaining regulatory guarantees.

3. Cross-Chain & Conversion Tools

• There’s a token bridge (using protocols like LayerZero) allowing users to move Ondo’s RWA tokens (like USDY) across chains.
• The Ondo Token Converter helps swap between different versions of tokens (e.g., converting between rebasing and accumulating versions) without slippage.

4. Compliance-First Design

• Ondo emphasizes regulatory compliance, embedding identity-verification (KYC/AML) into its system to satisfy on-chain and off-chain investors.
• Some tokens (e.g., OUSG / rOUSG) can only be minted or redeemed by users who meet certain regulatory requirements.
• For security, the protocol has been audited (for example, its OUSG contracts) to ensure proper risk controls.

• Ondo Protocol / Asset Management: A core platform that creates and manages tokenized financial products.
• Governance via ONDO: ONDO holders vote on key decisions — asset listings, protocol upgrades, treasury use, and more.
• Flux Finance: A lending and borrowing sub-protocol that supports on-chain usage of RWA tokens.
• Ondo Chain (Layer-1): Ondo is developing (or has) a dedicated blockchain for real-world asset tokenization.

• Real-World Asset Tokenization: Unlike many DeFi projects that deal purely in crypto, Ondo brings tokenized Treasuries and money market funds on-chain.
• Institutional Compliance: The protocol is built with a high level of compliance and KYC, making it more attractive for regulated institutions.
• Governance + Long-Term Incentives: ONDO token aligns stakeholders via governance and long-term development — vesting schedules and DAO-centered operations.
• Risk-Aware Design: With real-world assets like Treasuries, Ondo offers a relatively lower-risk yield option compared to many crypto-native yield products.
• Interoperability: Cross-chain bridging and a dedicated blockchain architecture broaden its reach and usability.

Governance:

• ONDO is primarily a governance token. Holders can vote on protocol proposals, future asset listings, and other important changes.
• The governance process is managed through the Ondo DAO.

Additional Utilities:

• Staking: ONDO can be staked for rewards.
• Fee Mechanisms: There are proposals (and discussions) about routing protocol revenues (from products like USDY / OUSG) back to ONDO holders, aligning long-term token holder interest.

Tokenomics:

• Total supply: 10 billion ONDO.
• Distribution:
• ~52.1% for ecosystem growth (airdrops, incentives).
• ~33% for protocol development.
• ~12.9% for private sales.
• ~2% for a community access sale.
• Vesting / Unlock: Tokens are subject to a vesting schedule.

• Founding: Ondo was founded by former Goldman Sachs professionals, combining deep TradFi experience with DeFi innovation.
• Launch & Growth: The ONDO token launched via CoinList.
• Partnerships & Expansion: Ondo has built strong institutional partnerships (e.g., with BlackRock) to back its tokenized products.
• Future Vision: Ondo is expanding its RWA offerings beyond Treasuries to other securities. It’s also developing its own Layer-1 (Ondo Chain) tailored for real-world asset tokenization.

• Onboarding: To use some Ondo products, you may need to complete KYC / AML checks, especially for certain tokenized products.
• Mint / Redeem: Users deposit stablecoins (e.g., USDC) or wire USD to mint Ondo’s tokenized products; redemption is also possible, depending on product.
• Governance Participation: Holders of ONDO can vote on protocol proposals via the Ondo DAO.