Ondo Private Markets lets eligible non-U.S. investors trade private-company notes 24/7

Ondo Finance has rolled out a new platform called Ondo Private Markets, letting eligible investors outside the United States buy tokenized exposure to private companies that haven’t yet gone public. The launch landed on October 6, and it marks the firm’s first move beyond publicly traded stocks, ETFs and U.S. Treasuries into the world of pre-IPO assets.

Key takeaways

• Ondo Private Markets debuted October 6 with tokenized notes tied to private companies for non-U.S. investors.
• The first note references an unnamed pre-IPO AI company, with secondary trading due to begin the same week.
• Holders get economic exposure only — no shares, no voting rights, no direct equity stake.
• The tokens sit outside U.S. securities registration and can’t be sold to U.S. persons.
• Ondo’s separate U.S. unit, Oasis Pro Markets, is SEC-registered and holds FINRA authorizations for tokenized securities.

Ondo Finance Launches Ondo Private Markets for Tokenized Private Company Exposure

The new service is built around tokenized notes rather than actual company stock. Payouts on each note are tied to the value realized per common share of a referenced private company once a qualifying liquidity event — such as an IPO — takes place.

The first offering under Ondo Private Markets points to a company Ondo describes only as a leading pre-IPO artificial intelligence firm. Secondary-market trading on that note was expected to start this week. Ondo has not disclosed whether the AI company itself has endorsed or taken part in the product in any way.

Economic Exposure via Tokenized Notes, Not Equity or Voting Rights

Buyers of the notes don’t become shareholders. Ondo has been explicit that the instruments are obligations of the note issuer, not shares of the underlying business, meaning holders get no ownership stake, no voting power and no other shareholder rights in the referenced company. What they get instead is price exposure tracking that company’s per-share value when a liquidity event is triggered.

Trading and Custody Features for Eligible Non-U.S. Investors

Eligible buyers can trade their notes around the clock on secondary markets or simply hold them in self-custody wallets. Acting CEO and President Ian De Bode said the goal was to bring private-company exposure onto “24/7 trading on permissionless rails.”

Eligibility and Geographic Restrictions Apply

That round-the-clock framing doesn’t mean the product is open to everyone. Because these tokens aren’t registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 and are off-limits to U.S. persons, offering or selling them within the United States without a valid exemption would be illegal.

Regulatory Structure and U.S. Market Separation

Ondo is running two parallel tracks — one for U.S. investors, one for everyone else — and keeping them legally distinct. The Private Markets notes fall under the non-U.S. structure, separate from the company’s domestic securities business.

Separate U.S. Regulated Business Through Oasis Pro Markets

In July, Ondo’s broker-dealer subsidiary, Oasis Pro Markets, which is SEC-registered, secured FINRA authorizations covering tokenized securities for U.S. investors under its own separate structure. That business line operates independently of the new private-markets product, which is aimed squarely at eligible buyers outside the United States.

Ondo Stocks Platform Expansion and Future Private Market Plans

The private-markets launch builds on a tokenized-stock business with over $1 billion in TVL. According to figures from the company, Ondo Stocks, Ondo’s platform dedicated to public equities, currently hosts over 450 tokenized stocks and ETFs and has attracted roughly $1.28 billion in total value locked as of the latest reading.

Expansion into Sectors Like Robotics, Cybersecurity, Biotech, and More

Ondo has said future private-market notes will extend into robotics, cybersecurity, biotech, infrastructure, defense, energy and space companies. No launch dates or company names for those later offerings have been shared yet. The current rollout of tokenized private company notes starts with the single unnamed AI firm this week, with the broader sector lineup to follow.

Article produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by the editorial team.