All Change! Ondo Finance Retires Ondo Chain Plan in Favour of New Ondo Network Execution Layer
Updated: Oct 7
Ondo Finance, one of the tokenisation platforms UK infrastructure builders watch most closely for signals on where real world asset architecture is heading, has quietly abandoned its original plan to build a full blockchain and replaced it with a narrower execution layer instead.
The company launched the Ondo Network on 27 July, described by chief executive Ian De Bode as the evolution of Ondo Chain, the full blockchain the firm previously set out to build. Asked whether the new network effectively replaces that plan, De Bode said Ondo will not run Ondo Chain and Ondo Network in parallel, making clear this is a course correction rather than an additional product line.
The reasoning matters for anyone building tokenisation infrastructure, including UK platforms operating inside the Digital Securities Sandbox or preparing PISCES compatible systems. Ondo concluded, while developing its Ondo Perps trading platform and speaking to customers, that execution speed rather than settlement finality was the real bottleneck limiting on chain trading of tokenised assets. Traditional blockchains perform execution, verification and settlement on the same shared ledger, which gives durability and trust but makes them too slow and too transparent for high performance trading.
The Ondo Network instead separates execution from settlement and verification while keeping users in custody of their own assets. According to De Bode, a decentralised network of attestors determines which code secure hardware enclaves are permitted to run, effectively verifying that only approved code executes trades. Asset transfers currently settle on Ethereum, with support for additional public blockchains planned, and De Bode said the network will eventually commit settled state to public chains for a durable, immutable record, similar to the approach used by Lighter.
Ondo Perps, the platform's round the clock perpetual futures product for tokenised equities and commodities, is the first live application built on the new network, with tokenised real world assets accepted as collateral. Ondo said the architecture is general purpose and could eventually support spot markets, lending, structured products and non financial applications that need fast, private and verifiable execution.
The ONDO token's role is unchanged. De Bode said it remains the governance and ecosystem token for Ondo's real world asset and markets infrastructure, and will sit at the centre of incentives and governance as the network decentralises further, adding more attestors and watchers over time.
The pivot lands after a run of expansion from Ondo this year across round the clock minting of tokenised US stocks and voting rights for tokenised security holders, all covered on this site as they happened. What is new here is not another asset or market added to the platform, but an admission that the execution layer, not the settlement layer, is where tokenised markets have been getting stuck. For UK founders and platforms watching how institutional grade tokenisation infrastructure is maturing, that is a useful data point regardless of which chain eventually wins.
Key Takeaways
Ondo Finance has retired its original full blockchain plan, Ondo Chain, replacing it with a narrower execution layer called the Ondo Network.
The new architecture separates trade execution from settlement and verification, addressing a speed bottleneck that has limited high performance trading of tokenised assets on chain.
Ondo Perps, the platform's 24 hour perpetual futures product for tokenised equities and commodities, is the first application running on the new network.
Asset transfers currently settle on Ethereum, with more public blockchains planned, and the ONDO token's governance role is unchanged.
The move signals that execution speed, not settlement finality, is emerging as the binding constraint for real time markets in tokenised real world assets, a lesson relevant to UK platforms building inside the Digital Securities Sandbox and around PISCES.
Sources:
The Block, 27 July 2026, https://www.theblock.co/post/409792/ondo-launches-new-execution-network-calling-it-evolution-of-ondo-chain
How we got here
Ondo first set out the Ondo Chain plan on 6 February 2025. The Block reported at the time that it was designed as a layer 1 blockchain combining the compliance features of permissioned networks with the openness of public chains such as Ethereum. Validators would be permissioned, tokenised real world assets would be staked to help secure the network, and the chain would include native bridging to other supported networks. Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management and WisdomTree were named as advisers on its design.
The same week Ondo launched Ondo Global Markets, which offers exposure to more than 1,000 securities listed on the NYSE and Nasdaq. Ondo's total value locked was then a little over 653 million dollars, according to DefiLlama data cited by The Block. Around 18 months later, the company has kept the institutional goal but dropped the idea that it needs its own base layer to reach it.
What it means for UK founders
The UK route to tokenised securities runs through regulated settlement infrastructure. The Digital Securities Sandbox, run jointly by the Bank of England and the FCA, lets firms operate digital securities depositories and trading venues under modified rules, and in that model settlement and record keeping sit at the regulated core. Ondo's shift suggests that a firm does not need to own the settlement ledger to compete on trading. It can concentrate on execution and settle elsewhere.
For UK builders this is a practical design question. A platform may be able to rely on an approved settlement layer, whether a sandbox depository or a public chain, and put its own engineering into speed, privacy and user experience. The same logic applies to PISCES, where the value for private companies lies in running orderly trading windows rather than in owning new ledger technology.
Separating execution from settlement can also change which activities need permission under FSMA. Founders may want to take professional advice before building an execution layer that sits outside a regulated settlement venue.
Key facts at a glance
6 February 2025: Ondo Chain announced as a layer 1 blockchain for institutional real world asset markets.
Named design advisers at the time: Franklin Templeton, Wellington Management and WisdomTree.
Planned design: permissioned validators, staking of tokenised real world assets and native cross chain bridging.
February 2025 total value locked: over 653 million dollars, per DefiLlama.
27 July 2026: Ondo Network announced, with Ondo Perps as its first application and settlement on Ethereum.
Further reading
Frequently asked questions
What is the Ondo Network?
The Ondo Network is an execution layer launched by Ondo Finance on 27 July 2026. It separates trade execution from settlement and verification while users keep custody of their own assets.
Has Ondo Finance cancelled Ondo Chain?
Chief executive Ian De Bode described the Ondo Network as the evolution of Ondo Chain and said Ondo will not run the two in parallel. The full blockchain plan has effectively been replaced.
Why did Ondo Finance switch from a full blockchain to an execution layer?
While building Ondo Perps and speaking to customers, Ondo concluded that execution speed rather than settlement finality was the main bottleneck for on chain trading of tokenised assets. Traditional blockchains handle execution, verification and settlement on one shared ledger, which makes them too slow and too transparent for high performance trading.
Where do Ondo Network trades settle?
Asset transfers currently settle on Ethereum, with support for additional public blockchains planned. De Bode said the network will eventually commit settled state to public chains for a durable, immutable record.
Has the role of the ONDO token changed?
No. The ONDO token remains the governance and ecosystem token for Ondo's real world asset and markets infrastructure, and will sit at the centre of incentives and governance as the network decentralises.
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