Key Highlights
- The proposal introduces a dual-custody structure using each BitGo and Coinbase to safe the fund’s underlying digital belongings.
- By adopting a cash-only creation and redemption mannequin, the fund shifts the technical burden of ONDO token acquisition to third-party intermediaries.
- The transition from a personal belief to a public S-1 submitting indicators an effort to deliver institutional-grade RWA yield merchandise to Nasdaq.
Crypto asset supervisor 21Shares submitted a revised S-1 registration assertion to the U.S. Securities and Change Fee (SEC) on Friday, looking for approval to launch the 21Shares Ondo ETF. If accepted, this product would turn into the primary U.S. spot exchange-traded fund monitoring ONDO, the native token of the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform Ondo Finance.
The revised filing adopts a cash-based creation and redemption mannequin and introduces a construction of twin custody. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is meant to listing on the Nasdaq trade, bringing each institutional and retail buyers in a regulated manner into the RWA house.
This follows the preliminary submitting made in July 2025 concerning the 21Shares Ondo Belief. The up to date proposal modifications the fund from a personal belief construction to a public ETF, reflecting the growing institutional curiosity in blockchain-based yield merchandise and tokenized securities.
Structural and regulatory updates
The amended submitting contains a number of structural updates to satisfy present regulatory expectations for spot crypto ETFs. The fund will make use of a money creation and redemption mechanism.
Below this, licensed members will have the ability to make a money deposit, resulting in the creation of shares, which shall in flip be utilized by the fund for shopping for ONDO tokens through a third-party middleman. So, there can be no involvement of brokers in buying and selling in digital belongings. It shifts any buying and selling prices or market slippage away from the fund’s web asset worth and onto the licensed members.
Twin custody mannequin
To enhance safety and operational resilience, 21Shares has transitioned from a single-custodian mannequin to a dual-custody association. Though initially the Coinbase Custody Belief Firm was the one custodian talked about within the submitting for the 21Shares Ondo Belief, within the lately amended submitting for the 21Shares Ondo ETF, there’s a point out of the BitGo Financial institution & Belief because the second custodian.
Within the submitting, the asset administration method is mentioned in higher element. This contains an asset cut up right into a ‘Chilly Vault Stability’ and a ‘Scorching Vault Stability.’
Passive funding car
The 21Shares Ondo ETF is structured as a passive funding car and tracks the CME CF Ondo Finance Greenback Reference Charge. With this construction, buyers have a technique to spend money on the value of ONDO tokens however needn’t undergo the technical train of dealing with digital wallets and immediately partaking with decentralized applied sciences.
Ondo Finance, based in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs associates Nathan Allman and Pinku Suran, rose to the highest throughout the RWA sector. It tokenizes conventional monetary merchandise akin to U.S. Treasury bonds and cash market merchandise. Supporting that is the ONDO token.
Latest platform traction
Ondo has seen main traction lately following the distinguished integration with MetaMask. On February 3, MetaMask introduced that non-U.S. customers can entry greater than 200 tokenized U.S. assets, together with shares like NVIDIA and Apple, in addition to gold and silver ETFs, immediately by the pockets through Ondo World Markets.
The SEC’s overview of the 21Shares Ondo ETF might comply with one in every of three attainable approval paths. The registration assertion might turn into efficient inside 20 to 75 days after the modification, which means a possible launch date between late February and mid-April 2026.
Future market implications
If accepted, the 21Shares Ondo ETF would acknowledge ONDO as a regulated asset class and will set off a surge in related filings for different RWA-focused tokens. This could enable trillions of {dollars} in conventional capital to enter on-chain ecosystems.
The product’s success will doubtless hinge on the general efficiency of the RWA sector and the continued stability of U.S. rates of interest, which impression the attraction of Ondo’s underlying yield-bearing merchandise.
Additionally Learn: Bitwise Files with the SEC to Launch First Ever Uniswap ETF
Disclaimer: The knowledge researched and reported by The Crypto Occasions is for informational functions solely and isn’t a substitute for skilled monetary recommendation. Investing in crypto belongings includes vital threat as a result of market volatility. All the time Do Your Personal Analysis (DYOR) and seek the advice of with a certified Monetary Advisor earlier than making any funding selections.
