ONDO Finance launches ONDO Network as evolution of its planned blockchain for real-world assets

Ondo Finance just shipped the thing it’s been talking about for over a year, though it looks a bit different than what was originally promised. The Ondo Network, which went live on July 27, is what the company calls the “evolution” of Ondo Chain, the standalone Layer 1 blockchain it first announced back in February 2025 for tokenizing real-world assets.

In English: instead of building an entirely new blockchain from scratch, Ondo pivoted to something more pragmatic. A hybrid execution layer that handles trades privately and quickly while still settling on existing public chains like Ethereum.

What the Ondo Network actually does

The architecture is split into two distinct systems. The first layer uses secure hardware enclaves to handle trade execution, processing transactions with speed and privacy. The second layer is a decentralized multi-party attestor network that handles verification and key management. Assets ultimately settle on public blockchains, preserving transparency.

The first major application running on the network is Ondo Perps, a perpetual futures trading platform that went live publicly on July 7. The platform offers 24/7 trading with up to 20x leverage.

Ondo Perps lets traders use tokenized stocks as collateral — a first for any perpetual futures platform.

Why the pivot from Ondo Chain

The original Ondo Chain was pitched as a public proof-of-stake Layer 1 purpose-built for real-world assets.

CEO Ian De Bode has framed the Ondo Network as an evolution rather than a replacement. The feedback apparently pointed toward prioritizing execution performance and privacy over building yet another L1 in an already crowded field.

The first version of the network is live now, with plans for the architecture to evolve in complexity and decentralization over time. Distinct operational tracks are reportedly planned for future development phases.

The ONDO token and market context

The ONDO token currently trades around $0.40 with a market capitalization of approximately $2 billion. It serves dual purposes within the ecosystem: governance participation and incentivization mechanics.

The risk side is equally clear. This hybrid architecture, with its secure hardware enclaves, introduces trust assumptions that pure blockchain solutions don’t carry. If the enclaves have vulnerabilities or the attestor network fails to decentralize sufficiently, the security model could face scrutiny.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.