David Edwards
Swiss crypto asset manager 21Shares has filed a Form S‑1 prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its proposed 21Shares Ondo Trust, a spot ETF intended to hold the ONDO token and track the CME CF Ondo Finance‑Dollar Reference Rate. The tokens will be protected by Coinbase Custody. The trust will operate passively, allowing authorized participants to create and redeem shares either in cash or in-kind, and will not employ speculative leverage.
The native utility token of Ondo Chain is a proof-of-stake blockchain that is interoperable with Ethereum at layer 1 and designed for institutional-grade tokenized real-world assets. With 3.1 billion tokens in circulation out of a total supply of 10 billion, ONDO has a market valuation of $3.5 billion as of today. It is presently trading at about $1.12, down about 48% from its December peak of $2.14.
The first U.S.-listed fund to be physically backed by a DeFi token with a RWA focus would be this retail and institutionally accessible ETF. The filing suggests that tokenized real-world assets are becoming more accepted in regulated markets. Examples of these assets include private credit and U.S. Treasurys, which currently make up almost $25 billion on-chain.
Recently, Ondo Finance strengthened its plan to offer tokenized securities to institutional investors by partnering with Pantera Capital and acquiring SEC-registered broker-dealer Oasis Pro. Growing institutional interest is also highlighted in the filing; after the news, ONDO’s price increased somewhat in the market.
Through reliable financial infrastructure, the 21Shares Ondo Trust would provide direct, regulated exposure to the tokenized RWA ecosystem for investors in the United States if it were permitted. Following U.S. licenses for spot BTC and ETH ETFs in 2024, the SEC review procedure, which assesses custodial integrity, benchmark validity, and retail safeguards, might take several months.
