The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has closed its two-year investigation into Ondo Finance without recommending any charges. This development marked a significant turning point for both ONDO and the future of the US tokenization space. The investigation, which began in October 2023, assessed whether Ondo's processes for tokenizing US Treasury securities were compliant with existing securities laws and whether ONDO tokens should be classified as a security.
According to a company spokesperson, Ondo received official notification at the end of November that the investigation was fully closed. This development confirmed a significant shift in the agency's approach to crypto-related filings since the SEC's new Chairman, Paul Atkins, took office. The withdrawal or dismissal of several high-profile cases filed during the Biden administration, along with the easing of pressure on companies like Coinbase, Ripple, and Kraken, all indicate that the US regulatory landscape is shifting more pro-crypto.
The closure of the investigation also paved the way for Ondo to pursue a more robust expansion strategy within the US. The company recently registered as an investment advisor and acquired Oasis Pro Markets, an SEC-registered broker-dealer, ATS operator, and transfer agent. This structure provides Ondo with a regulatory-compliant operating space for the tokenization of real-world assets and a more comprehensive infrastructure for institutional investors.
Meanwhile, the SEC has transformed tokenization from a mere monitoring agency to an active policy area. At last week's Investor Advisory Committee meeting, the agency discussed the potential impact of tokenization on the issuance, trading, and settlement of publicly traded stocks. Chairman Atkins emphasized in his remarks that distributed ledger technology could be a "transformative force" in the capital markets.
ONDO price rises
Amid these developments, the ONDO price has also been experiencing significant market volatility. According to a screenshot of the coin, the token is trading at $0.4966 today, demonstrating a significant increase in investor interest over the past 24 hours. Looking at the price changes:
• 5.32% increase in the last hour,
• 7.30% increase in the 24 hours,
• 8.12% increase in the 7 days.
In contrast, the 30-day price performance remains weak at -25.99%. This chart suggests that despite the short-term recovery, investors have not fully moved past the correction experienced over the past month.
How Ondo's momentum unfolds from now on will largely depend on the company's plans to expand its US operations and the new tokenization solutions to be announced at the Ondo Summit in New York in February.
