Ondo enters the pre-IPO market, launches tokenized notes linked to…

Ondo Finance enters private equity market: launches blockchain-based tokenized notes to provide non-U.S. investors with exposure to alternative assets

Ondo Finance is expanding its business landscape from tokenized public securities and treasury bonds to the private equity market. The platform is designed to provide eligible non-U.S. investors with financial exposure to specific private companies through transferable blockchain-based notes. Ondo Private Markets will first launch a tokenized note linked to an unnamed pre-IPO artificial intelligence (AI) company, and secondary market trading is expected to start this week. In the future, Ondo plans to increase corporate exposure to robotics, cybersecurity, biotechnology, infrastructure, defense, energy and space.

The key point of this structure is that investors do not directly buy shares in the referenced private company. Each note represents an obligation of the issuer, and its final earnings are linked to the value per share of the referenced company's common stock achieved in a qualifying liquidity event (such as an IPO or merger). The holder does not enjoy any ownership, voting rights or other shareholder rights of the underlying enterprise.

How does Ondo Private Market Tokens work?

These notes were originally designed to convert investment exposure typically locked in private equity structures into assets that can flow along the chain among qualified investors. Ondo said holders can store tokens in autonomous custody wallets and trade them 24/7 on the secondary market without having to wait for the underlying company to complete an initial public offering (IPO) or other liquidity event.

This difference between "economic exposure" and "ownership" makes its risk characteristics different from direct holding of shares in a private company. Investors 'claims are against the issuer of the note, not the target company; the payouts mechanism refers to the ultimate realized value of the target company's stock. Therefore, the legal structure, the issuer's credit status, valuation methods and the definition of qualified liquidity events are particularly important. In addition, due to the lack of continuously traded underlying stocks as reference prices, secondary market prices may deviate from the private company's latest implied valuation.

This approach is similar to an industry-wide effort to make private market exposure more tradable. Earlier reports pointed out that Citibank is developing blockchain-based ways to access private company shares, initially for foreign investors, and financial institutions are seeking to introduce historically illiquid asset classes into digital infrastructure.

Investor advice

These tokens should not be analyzed as traditional private company stocks. Investors gain economic exposure through notes issued by another entity, which introduces issuer risk and structural risk, adding to the valuation risk of the referenced company.

Can 24/7 transactions solve the liquidity problem of the private equity market?

Ondo targets one of the main constraints on private investment: Investors often have access to companies years before they go public, but exit opportunities are limited. The company believes that transferable tokens could create a secondary market for qualified holders to adjust positions while waiting for the reference company to go public.

However, the transferability of blockchain does not guarantee deep liquidity. Even if a market can be traded around the clock, it may still face problems such as limited buyers, widening bid-ask spreads, or sharp price fluctuations, especially when the valuations of underlying private companies change only during financing rounds or other infrequent transactions. Ondo also describes the notes as "composable," meaning they could be used in other scenarios of decentralized finance (DeFi). The substantial lending, mortgage or derivatives market that forms around these assets will depend on liquidity, integration and how external agreements assess the additional risks posed by private company valuations and note issuers 'exposure.

Other encryption platforms are also testing demand for private company products. Previously, it was reported that Bitget launched a pre-IPO platform spearheaded by tokens tied to SpaceX exposure, a structure that provides market exposure without giving holders direct ownership of the reference company.

Investor Revelation

Tokenization removes some operational barriers to diverting private market exposure, but it does not create liquidity by itself. Trading volume, market depth and reliability of reference valuations will determine whether round-the-clock availability can be translated into an actual exit channel.

Why does Ondo go beyond public tokenized stocks?

此次私募市场的发布是 Ondo 在 2026 年加速的基础设施建设的一部分。Ondo 表示，其代币化股票和国债产品的总锁仓价值（TVL）目前已达到 37 亿美元，累计持有者超过 100 万人。该公司还在开发区块链代币与传统证券基础设施之间更直接的连接。今年九月，Ondo 通过 Alpaca 引入了传统股票与代币化股票之间的实物转换功能，允许批准后的机构在不先将头寸转换为现金的情况下在这两种形式之间移动。

其美国战略正在单独发展。Ondo 的子公司 Oasis Pro Markets 今年获得了额外的 FINRA 授权，涵盖代币化股票和基金。相比之下，Ondo Private Markets 仅提供给许可司法管辖区内符合条件的非美国人士。

投资者启示

Ondo 正从代币化流动性强的公开证券，转向那些基于区块链的可转让性可能对市场准入产生更大影响的资产。更严峻的考验在于，在没有公开股票那种连续价格发现机制的情况下，代币化的私营公司票据能否建立可靠的定价和足够的二级流动性。

接下来会发生什么？

The identity of the first AI company has not been disclosed, making it difficult to assess the product's specific valuation and liquidity characteristics before the transaction begins. Ondo also did not elaborate on a timetable for subsequent private company launches. As a result, the first market will be an early test of whether the demand for high-profile pre-market exposure is sufficient to support active secondary markets on the chain.

Investors need to pay close attention not only to the valuation of the referenced company, but also to the liquidity of the notes, issuer terms, and differences between the token trading price and the economic value tracked by its final design.