SEC investigation ends, Ondo Finance "acquitted"! RWA giants open a new era of compliance

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially concluded its two-year investigation into the tokenized real world asset (RWA) platform Ondo Finance, without filing any charges. This confidential probe, which began during the Biden administration and focused on whether its tokenized Treasury products and the ONDO token constituted securities, has finally come to an end. Following the announcement, the ONDO token surged by 8%. Ondo is one of the world’s largest RWA protocols, managing assets exceeding $1.8 billion. This case, following similar reversals involving Coinbase and Kraken, marks another landmark instance of the SEC dropping major cases since Chairman Paul Atkins took office, signaling a pivotal shift in U.S. crypto regulation from “regulation by enforcement” to “regulation by classification.”

Two-Year Saga Ends: Ondo CEO Admits “Millions Spent”

The regulatory cloud hanging over RWA giant Ondo Finance for two years has finally lifted. On December 9, the company announced that the SEC has officially ended its investigation, with no enforcement action taken. This confidential investigation, which started in 2024, centered on whether Ondo’s tokenized U.S. Treasury products complied with federal securities law, and whether its native utility token ONDO should itself be classified as a security—one of the most common allegations against crypto companies under former chairman Gary Gensler.

The market responded positively to the news. The ONDO token price quickly spiked, with an intraday increase of up to 8%, reaching $0.50. For Ondo and its community, this was more than just a short-term price rally—it was a major clearing of uncertainty. Ondo CEO Nathan Allman shared on social media: “The scope of the investigation was broad, touching nearly every aspect of our business, costing millions of dollars in legal fees and a significant amount of time responding.” His comments reflect the heavy burden many crypto startups face when dealing with lengthy and ambiguous regulatory reviews. Now, with the investigation closed with “no charges,” Ondo can fully refocus its resources and attention on business expansion and product innovation, and plans to announce the next phase of its roadmap at the New York Summit in February next year.

Ondo Finance Key Data and Investigation Timeline

Key Business Data:

• Total Value Locked (TVL): Over $1.8 billion.
• Annual Net Revenue to Token Holders: $6.93 million.
• Flagship Products: USDY (yield-bearing stablecoin backed by U.S. Treasuries), tokenized U.S. equities and ETF access platform (Ondo Global Markets).
• Supported Blockchains: Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana, Stellar, and its own Ondo Chain.

Key Investigation Milestones:

• Investigation Launched: 2024 (during the Biden administration, Gensler serving as SEC Chair).
• Focus of Investigation: 1. Whether tokenized U.S. Treasury products violated securities laws; 2. Whether the ONDO token itself was an unregistered security.
• Investigation Closed: December 9, 2025; SEC officially closed the case with no charges.
• Immediate Market Reaction: ONDO token price rose 8% intraday, reaching as high as $0.50.

Recent Major Business Developments:

• September 2025: Launched Ondo Global Markets, offering qualified non-U.S. investors access to over 100 tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs.
• September 2025: Expanded the USDY product to the Stellar blockchain.
• November 2025: Obtained approval from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority to offer tokenized securities to over 500 million European investors under the EU MiCA framework.

Regulatory Winds Shift Sharply: Is the Biden-Era “Crypto Crackdown” Ending?

The dismissal of the Ondo investigation is not an isolated incident—it’s the latest in a series of similar cases, collectively outlining a policy U-turn at the top U.S. securities regulator following a change in leadership. Since Paul Atkins took over as SEC Chairman, the agency has repeatedly terminated or reversed several major crypto enforcement actions initiated during the Biden administration.

Looking back to early 2025, the SEC first dismissed its landmark lawsuit against Coinbase (which alleged the exchange operated as an unregistered securities exchange). A month later, a similar enforcement action against another major exchange, Kraken, was quietly closed with “no fines, no admissions of guilt, and no business changes required.” Meanwhile, reviews of Robinhood’s crypto unit and Uniswap Labs were also shelved. These moves clearly signal that the Atkins-led SEC is intentionally moving away from its predecessor’s adversarial “regulation by enforcement” model.

This shift aligns with Chairman Atkins’ publicly advocated “token taxonomy” regulatory philosophy. He calls for a clear distinction between different types of crypto assets (such as network tokens, digital collectibles, digital utilities, and tokenized securities), rather than presuming all tokens are securities by default. Ondo’s business model—issuing tokens on-chain that are backed one-to-one by real-world assets like Treasuries and stocks—sits at the intersection of traditional securities and crypto innovation. The SEC’s decision not to take action here can be interpreted as tacit approval, or even endorsement, of RWA models with clear underlying assets and compliant structures, sending a positive regulatory signal to the entire sector.

Why Ondo? Compliance Structure and Global Expansion Earn Regulatory Trust

The SEC’s decision to end its investigation into Ondo is underpinned by deep business logic. Unlike many purely “crypto-native” projects, Ondo chose from the outset to deeply integrate with the regulated traditional financial system. Its tokenized securities are not created out of thin air, but are strictly backed one-to-one by underlying assets held by U.S.-registered broker-dealers. This “suit-and-tie” approach to compliance greatly reduces the risk of being viewed as fraudulent or as conducting illegal securities offerings.

More importantly, Ondo’s recent business expansion shows a high degree of internationalization and regulatory compliance. In September, it launched “Ondo Global Markets,” specifically targeting qualified non-U.S. investors in Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Latin America with tokenized access to U.S. equities and ETFs. Then, in November, the company secured approval from the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority, allowing it to serve over 500 million retail investors across Europe under the EU’s new crypto asset market regulation (MiCA). These moves not only demonstrate huge market potential but also show regulators that Ondo is a serious enterprise committed to operating within existing global financial regulatory frameworks, not a “rogue” actor seeking to evade oversight.

Meanwhile, Ondo has also expanded the reach of its yield-bearing stablecoin USDY (backed by U.S. Treasuries) to the Stellar blockchain, which focuses on global payments. These solid business developments may have convinced the SEC that investigating and cracking down on a company bringing billions of traditional assets on-chain in a compliant way—and serving millions of new investors worldwide—does not serve the mission of “investor protection,” nor does it help U.S. competitiveness in the emerging digital finance space.

The Unstoppable RWA Wave: From Regulatory Target to Partner in Exploration

The conclusion of the Ondo case may mark a fundamental turning point in the relationship between the RWA (real world asset tokenization) narrative and regulators. Previously, RWA projects often walked on eggshells for fear of crossing the “securities” red line. Now, with the SEC dropping its investigation into an industry leader and the OCC encouraging banks to participate in digital asset custody, a clearer picture is emerging: regulators are beginning to view well-run, structurally transparent RWA protocols as “solution providers” for migrating the traditional financial system more efficiently and transparently onto blockchains, rather than as mere “regulatory problems.”

Most symbolically, the SEC itself is beginning to change roles. Reportedly, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee is now studying how tokenization could revolutionize the issuance, trading, and settlement infrastructure of traditional securities markets. This signifies the agency’s evolution from a pure “enforcer” to a “policy researcher and potential collaborator.” When regulators begin to seriously explore how your sector’s technology can improve existing systems, the industry’s survival environment has fundamentally changed.

Of course, not all Biden-era crypto cases have disappeared. The U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal charges against Tornado Cash co-founder Roman Storm still stand—he was convicted in August. This reveals a clear regulatory boundary: enforcement remains tough on “purely crypto-native” tools aimed at privacy enhancement that can be used for money laundering; while for innovations like Ondo, focused on transparently bringing regulated traditional assets on-chain to meet clear compliance needs, regulators are showing unprecedented tolerance and openness. This boundary will serve as a core reference point for all future crypto projects in designing their business models.