The market for tokenized real-world assets (RWA) is moving to a new level. While tokenized stocks were once seen as an experimental niche within the crypto community, their total value now exceeds $1.08 billion, with a monthly transaction volume of over $2.10 billion. Now the leader in this segment, the Ondo platform, is taking the next logical step: launching perpetual futures trading on these assets with leverage of up to 20x.
The Ondo Perps service, operating in public beta since June, provides access to over-the-counter trading of tokenized versions of US stocks, ETFs, commodities, and indices. The list of available assets includes Nvidia, Tesla, gold, oil, silver, as well as the US 100 and US 500 indices. Trading is available around the clock, and collateral can include not only stablecoins but also the tokenized securities themselves. This is a key feature that sets Ondo Perps apart from most crypto derivatives platforms.
Why stock collateral is a breakthrough
Traditional crypto exchanges with perpetuals only accept stablecoins or major cryptocurrencies as collateral. If a trader holds tokenized Nvidia shares, they still need to separately deposit stablecoins to open a position. Ondo Perps solves this problem by allowing the tokenized securities themselves to be used as margin. This combines collateral, pricing, and hedging in a single system, making capital use much more efficient. A market maker, in turn, can hedge risks through the same brokers as the underlying asset, reducing fragmentation and increasing stability.
An existing base: Ondo dominates the market
Ondo Perps has a solid foundation. The Ondo Global Markets platform, launched earlier, has already gathered over $1 billion in assets. As of today, Ondo has 405 tokenized shares worth approximately $870 million, accounting for 43.61% of the market. In June, Blockchain.com joined the platform, adding 173 new assets. The total number of tokenized securities using Ondo technology has exceeded 430, operating on the Ethereum, Solana, and BNB Chain networks. It is important to note: these tokens do not confer rights to the underlying asset, but merely track its price; however, they are already sufficient to build derivatives around them.
Key risks and challenges
Derivatives on RWAs are a complex instrument. The main liquidity for stocks and ETFs remains concentrated on traditional exchanges, which are closed on weekends and holidays. During periods of strong movements driven by macroeconomic data or corporate reports, a position with 20x leverage could be liquidated before the market opens. Therefore, the success of Ondo Perps will be determined not by the number of assets on the list, but by the quality of execution: tight spreads, stable market depth, and accurate collateral valuation.
My opinion: Ondo is taking a serious step toward integrating traditional finance and DeFi. If the platform proves its resilience under stress, it could become a catalyst for a massive inflow of capital from TradFi into the crypto ecosystem. But for now, it is only a beta — and stress tests will show whether tokenized stocks are ready to serve as the foundation for serious trading.