Ondo becomes a licensed RWA provider in the EU

The green light is based on a base prospectus reviewed and approved by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA). Because Liechtenstein participates in the EU “passporting” regime for financial services, a single authorization can be used across all 27 EU member states as well as in Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein itself.

For retail investors, that means they can buy tokenized stocks and ETFs in a fully regulated jurisdiction instead of on lightly supervised or gray-market crypto venues. For Ondo, it opens the door to roughly half a billion potential users across Europe.

Ondo Global Markets, the entity responsible for issuing these instruments, already runs some of the industry’s largest pools of tokenized securities. According to the company, it manages more than $315 million in assets and has surpassed $1 billion in cumulative trading volume. Ondo’s products give investors blockchain-based exposure to real-world assets such as funds that hold U.S. Treasuries and other conservative instruments.

Analysts often describe the Ondo Finance protocol as one of the key players in the RWA segment. The project drew attention by helping move funds managed by giants like BlackRock onto blockchain rails, while its native ONDO token has climbed into the top 100 cryptoassets by market cap. EU approval builds on that momentum: the company now has not only a technology edge but also a solid regulatory footing.

Across the Atlantic, Ondo has taken a much tougher line on how traditional finance wants to approach tokenization. In the fall the company sent a letter to the SEC criticizing Nasdaq’s plan to launch trading in tokenized securities. Ondo is asking the exchange and the Depository Trust Company (DTC) to explain how post-trade settlement will work and warns that an opaque setup could hand large incumbents an unfair advantage. The letter itself stresses that, in its current form, the proposal leaves too many questions unanswered for market participants.

In Europe, Ondo is locking in its status as a regulated gateway to tokenized stocks, while in the U.S. it is pushing for clear, transparent rules that apply evenly to all market participants. Against the broader shift toward tokenization of real-world assets, this mix of licensing in the EU and an activist stance with U.S. regulators positions Ondo among the most ambitious players in the institutional blockchain market.