ONDO jumped roughly 16% after reports that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a framework that could allow tokenized versions of stocks to trade on crypto rails, potentially giving one of the real-world asset sector’s most visible names a fresh regulatory tailwind. ONDO traded near $0.390, up 15.5% over 24 hours, with about $228 million in daily volume and a market capitalization near $1.9 billion.
The move followed a Bloomberg report, that the SEC could release an “innovation exemption” for tokenized stocks as soon as this week. The framework would reportedly create a path for digital versions of securities to trade outside traditional exchange venues and on decentralized crypto platforms, including tokens that may not have the consent or backing of the public companies whose shares they track.
Why Is ONDO Profiting The Most From The News?
For crypto markets, the report landed directly on one of the year’s strongest narratives: tokenized public equities. The Kobeissi Letter described the potential exemption via X as a “surprise move,” saying it could “reshape the landscape of the American stock market” and represent “one of the US’ biggest shifts into crypto infrastructure yet.”
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The market reaction centered on projects already positioned around on-chain securities. ONDO led gains among major RWA-linked tokens, while traders also pointed to Hyperliquid as a potential beneficiary because of its role in on-chain derivatives. One account, The DeFi Investor, framed the report as “great news” for both HYPE and ONDO, arguing that it “legitimizes Ondo as the largest tokenized stocks issuer,” while Hyperliquid will be “one of the biggest beneficiaries as the largest DEX for RWA perps.”
Ondo’s own data points have given traders a concrete reason to connect the SEC report to the token. Ondo Global Markets recently crossed $1 billion in total value locked less than eight months after its September 2025 launch. The platform holds more than 70% of the tokenized equity issuer market and has processed more than $18 billion in cumulative trading volume. It currently offers more than 260 tokenized US stocks and ETFs across Solana, Ethereum and BNB Chain.
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Katie Wheeler, Managing Director of Global Partnerships at Ondo Finance, said in a recent interview that the platform’s growth could accelerate further. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we surpassed $5 billion by the end of the year. I know that seems a little advantageous, but we have a lot of interest and we’re really building up quite a pipeline.”
Wheeler’s broader argument is that tokenized equities remain early relative to the size of public markets. “We are literally just scratching the surface. This is a very large industry. So even if we did 1%, I think that would be tremendous,” she said.
Tokenized stocks are just getting started.
Following Ondo tokenized stocks crossing $1B in TVL, Ondo’s @KatieAWheeler gave @TheStreet her year-end forecast:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we surpassed $5 billion by year-end. We have a lot of interest, and we’re building up quite a… pic.twitter.com/sFIoiXqi8G
— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) May 18, 2026
Still, the reported SEC approach raises a core regulatory question: whether stock-linked tokens can scale without undermining shareholder protections. Bloomberg reported that the tokens may not provide traditional rights such as voting power or dividends, while the source material indicates platforms could lose eligibility if listed products fail to provide rights such as voting or dividends.
At press time, ONDO traded at $0.3871.
Featured image created with DALL.E, chart from TradingView.com
