Ondo Chain
Overview

Ondo Chain Overview

Introduction

Ondo Chain* is a Layer-1 blockchain purpose-built to accelerate the creation of institutional-grade financial markets onchain. By combining the openness of public blockchains with the compliance and security features of permissioned chains, Ondo Chain provides infrastructure to enable tokenized real-world assets to be used at scale.

Key Features

  • Secured by High-Quality RWAs: Validators can stake RWAs and other high quality liquid assets to secure the network, bridges, and oracles, reducing volatility risk and costs while enabling investors to earn additional yield on their RWAs.
  • Enshrined Oracles & Proof of Reserves: Through consensus, validators will automatically verify key off-chain data such as asset prices (via price feeds) and proof of reserves (via custodians or broker dealers).
  • Native Omnichain Messaging & Bridging: The Ondo decentralized verifier network (DVN) and multi-attestation protocols enable seamless cross-chain transactions to both EVM and non-EVM networks. Additional, third-party DVNs can be used at higher transaction amounts, balancing speed, cost, and safety. Ondo Chain also enables integrations into private, permissioned chains.
  • Permissioned Validators: Validators will include institutional asset managers and broker-dealers and will be monitored to prevent front-running and support best execution, increasing investor protections.
  • Open Access & Development: Virtually anyone can issue tokens, develop apps, or act as a user or investor.
  • RWA Focused Ecosystem: Ondo Chain makes RWAs first-class citizens in DeFi, enabling borrowing, lending, staking, and cross-collateralization across traditional and crypto assets.

Why Build Another L1?

  1. Seamless, Cost-Effective Investor Experience
    Tightly coupling onchain and offchain infrastructure reduces costs, enhances security, and ensures low-latency operations for critical processes; these are important to ensure the type of user experience that institutional-grade financial markets require.
  2. Institutional Alignment
    A “public permissioned” model where financial institutions are involved in running the chain fosters security and compliance, ultimately giving these institutions more comfort about using the chain. As the goal is to bring financial markets onchain, having these institutions participate is critical because they hold the majority of the world’s investable assets and have access to traditional market liquidity with the best price execution for many assets.
  3. Unified Ecosystem
    Having a dedicated ecosystem built around RWAs allows for concentrated development of wallets, protocols, and applications tailored to the unique needs of financial markets. This unified focus fosters innovation, maximizes utility, and ensures that every participant in the ecosystem is aligned in advancing the use of tokenized assets.

Applications Enabled by Ondo Chain

  • Prime Brokerage: Access margin on both RWAs and crypto (including cross-collateralization) from both onchain and off-chain sources at competitive rates. Buy and sell from broker-dealers obligated to provide best execution, and receive competitive securities lending rates when you loan out your assets.
  • Staking and Collateral: Stake Ondo GM assets on Ondo Chain to enhance security, as well as post as collateral for borrowing and other uses.
  • Onchain Wealth Management: Easily build and/or utilize onchain asset management strategies, including automatic 24/7 portfolio rebalancing across crypto, equities, ETFs and fixed income.
  • Cross-Chain Token Issuance: Issue tokens that automatically work on multiple chains. Set conditions that must be met for bridges to take place. Manage and administer the assets seamlessly across chains.
  • Stablecoin Distribution and Yield: Distribute stablecoins secured by tokenized securities and a variety of fixed income products across various supported blockchains and easily track minting and yield attribution.
  • Bootstrap Other Networks and Protocols: Use restaked Ondo Chain RWAs to secure a new chain or protocol while the native token and network matures.

Comparative Advantage

  • Compared to Public Chains: Ondo Chain focuses on integrating liquid RWAs into DeFi, facilitates regulated institutional participation, and aids in security and investor protections through permissioned validators and exogenous asset staking.
  • Compared to Private Chains: Ondo Chain provides open access, use, and development, enables the development of an open, robust DeFi ecosystem, and enables native bridging to other chains.
  • Compared to Bridging Protocols: Ondo Chain is an L1 blockchain with its own state and logic, is secured by institutional participants and staked RWAs, and has integrations into traditional finance networks that enable lower cost and latency while enabling real time liquidity.



*Ondo Chain and Ondo Global Markets (“GM”) have not launched. GM tokenized assets (“GM Assets”) will be backed by applicable securities; however, GM Assets and the underlying securities are distinct assets with their own respective performance and risk profiles. Upon launch, GM Assets will not be, and thereafter may not be, registered under the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Act") or pursuant to securities laws of any other jurisdiction. GM Assets shall not be offered, sold or otherwise transferred in the US or to US persons unless registered under the Act or an exemption or exclusion from the registration requirements thereof is available. Upon launch, the issuers of GM Assets will not be, and thereafter may not be, registered as investment companies under the US Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.
Providers of products, services or technologies on Ondo Chain (including but not limited to issuers of assets and providers of asset-related services) are responsible for their own products, services and technologies, including but not limited to the compliance of such products, services and technologies with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Ondo does not endorse, Ondo does not make any representation or warranty whatsoever (express or implied, including but not limited to any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or non-infringement) regarding, and ONDO SHALL NOT HAVE ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO ANYONE'S USE OF, any third-party products, services or technologies deployed to or accessible via Ondo Chain.
Nothing herein constitutes any offer to sell, or any solicitation of an offer to buy, any assets that may be deployed to or accessible via Ondo Chain (including but not limited to any GM Assets). Acquiring any such assets may (and for GM Assets will) involve risks. A holder of any such assets (including but not limited to any GM Assets) may incur losses, including total loss of their purchase price. Past performance may not be (and for GM Assets will not be) an indication of future results. Additional terms and conditions may (and for GM Assets will) apply.

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