Markets Outlook: Ondo Charts a Path from Tokenized Assets to On-Chain Prime Brokerage

CoinDesk | February 6, 2026
Guest: Ian De Bode, President of Ondo Finance

Episode Overview

This episode of Markets Outlook provides an in-depth update on Ondo Finance’s recent progress and vision, as shared by its President, Ian De Bode, at the Ondo Summit. The conversation covers Ondo’s rapid growth in tokenized assets, key partnerships within traditional finance (TradFi), and Ondo’s strategic move to expand from asset tokenization into on-chain financial services, culminating in a bid to create the first true on-chain prime brokerage infrastructure. The discussion sheds light on broader crypto market trends, product-market fit for tokenized stocks and ETFs, and how crypto-native trading behaviors are converging with these new offerings.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Ondo's Explosive Year and Market Leadership

(01:07 - 01:54)

• TVL Milestones: Ondo has reached over $2 billion in tokenized treasuries, leading the market, and approximately $600 million in tokenized stocks and ETFs, controlling about 60% market share.
• Major Partnerships: Strategic collaborations have been formed with legacy industry players like MasterCard and JP Morgan.
• Ecosystem Evolution: 2025 marked a period of scaling core products, launching new tokenized equities and ETF platforms, and setting the stage for comprehensive on-chain financial services in 2026.

Quote [01:07]:
“We are now the number one in the tokenized treasury category with over $2 billion in TVL... That one is coming up on more or less 600 million in TVL, which gives us about 60% market share in that category.”
— Ian De Bode

2. Building Infrastructure Over Chasing Immediate Revenue

(00:00 - 00:29; 02:28 - 03:32)

• Pipes Before Profit: The current focus is on establishing robust on-chain infrastructure (“building the pipes”), not immediate monetization.
• Market Sentiment: Despite rapid growth, tokenized assets constitute a tiny fraction of global finance, but industry sentiment is optimistic as foundational rails are being laid.

Quote [00:00]:
“Revenue is important, don't get me wrong. But I think right now is much more still about building the pipes. The scale comes after.”
— Ian De Bode

3. From Tokenized Assets to Tokenized Services—Prime Brokerage Vision

(02:28 - 03:32; 06:15 - 07:19)

• Ecosystem Maturity: Moving beyond simple asset tokenization, Ondo is targeting a “land grab” for service infrastructure—specifically, prime brokerage.
• Ondo Perps Announcement: Launch of the first on-chain perpetuals platform (“Ondo Perps”) allowing equities and commodities perps trading using tokenized assets as collateral, not just stablecoins.
• Composability: Ondo’s products are designed to work together (composability), enabling unique offerings like perps and paving the way for complete on-chain prime brokerage.

Quote [06:15]:
“We announced Ondo Perps today… The key innovation that we're enabling is having spot assets… pledging those assets as collateral… Every single other venue right now only offers stablecoins as collateral. So I think that really is the key differentiating factor.”
— Ian De Bode

4. Demand and Adoption of Tokenized Stocks & ETFs

(03:32 - 05:59)

• Global Retail Focus: Significant unmet demand exists among global investors for access to U.S. stocks and ETFs, especially in jurisdictions with barriers to entry.
• Platform Growth: Since launching in September, Ondo’s tokenized equities platform has only seen capital inflows—just three days of net outflows.
• Exchange Partnerships: Integration with Binance Wallet, MetaMask (announced at the summit), OKX Wallet, and Bitget is fueling rapid user adoption, particularly in Southeast Asia and other international markets.
• Ease of Settlement: Tokenized stocks provide advantages like 24/7/365 settlement and stablecoin compatibility, making integration more straightforward for exchanges native to crypto infrastructure.

Quote [05:08]:
“We felt that it would only make sense to put these assets on chain so that we could do for stocks and ETFs what stablecoins did for the US dollar.”
— Ian De Bode

5. Crypto’s Everything App—Convergence of Products and Behaviors

(07:19 - 08:48)

• Everything App Thesis: Crypto exchanges and wallets are evolving into all-in-one financial platforms, integrating crypto, stocks, ETFs, perps, and more under a single roof.
• User Behaviors Driving Product: There's no logical reason to silo crypto and equities trading—investors want a unified experience.

Quote [07:58]:
“You as an investor just want one app, one platform where you can buy anything you want… all these things should be possible all on the same platform.”
— Ian De Bode

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Major Growth Recap:
  “We are now the number one in the tokenized treasury category with over $2 billion in TVL… about 60% market share…2025 really is, I think, the year where we were able to both scale the existing products that we have, launch new platforms with tokenized stocks and ETFs.”
  — Ian De Bode [01:07]

• On Why Infrastructure Comes First:
  “As much as I love having, you know, $2 billion in tokenized treasury, 600 million in tokenized stocks, that's obviously a drop in the bucket compared to real traditional finance. But I do think the sentiment is that we're starting to get to a point where the pipes are in place.”
  — Ian De Bode [00:00, 02:28]

• On Innovation in On-Chain Perpetuals:
  “The key innovation that we're enabling is having spot assets… pledging those assets as collateral… Every single other venue right now only offers stablecoins as collateral.”
  — Ian De Bode [06:15]

• Power of Unified Financial Platforms:
  “You as an investor just want one app, one platform where you can buy anything you want… all these things should be possible all on the same platform.”
  — Ian De Bode [07:58]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–00:29: Revenue vs. infrastructure priorities
• 01:07–01:54: Ondo’s 2025 progress, market share, and traditional finance partnerships
• 02:28–03:32: Why “land grab” and network effects matter now
• 03:32–05:59: Real-world demand for tokenized assets, platforms, and distribution deals
• 06:15–07:19: “Ondo Perps” launch and composable financial services
• 07:19–08:48: The emergence of crypto’s “everything apps” and future user behaviors

Conclusion

Ondo Finance’s Ian De Bode offered a confident and ambitious roadmap: from dominating tokenized treasuries and equities to unlocking new financial services like on-chain prime brokerage. The episode gives listeners an insider’s perspective on the infrastructure race, evolving user demand, and how crypto platforms are converging into comprehensive financial super-apps. Ondo’s strategy is clear—lay robust rails now, capture network effects, and become the backbone of tokenized finance for both retail and institutional markets globally.