On May 26, 2026, Ondo Finance officially announced the unexpected passing of its founder, Nathan Allman.

This news re-energized market attention on Ondo and once again placed the RWA (Real World Assets) sector under the spotlight.

From tokenized U.S. Treasuries to Ondo Global Markets, and further into exposure to U.S. equities and ETFs, Ondo has consistently occupied a central position in bringing traditional financial assets onto the blockchain.

So when traditional financial assets begin to be tokenized, who will control the next-generation asset gateway?

Today, this question is no longer exclusive to Ondo. Participants such as xStocks and NYSE are entering the U.S. equity tokenization market from different angles. While they all appear to be pursuing U.S. stock on-chain integration, their underlying strategies differ significantly.

I. Ondo’s Contribution: Transitioning RWA from Yield Narratives to Asset Gateway Narratives

Nathan Allman’s contribution to Ondo goes beyond founding an RWA project. More importantly, he transformed a conceptually nascent direction into a product that was both comprehensible to the market and usable by end users.

During the early phase of the RWA narrative, market understanding remained vague. Discussions largely stayed at the level of grand visions: real estate could be on-chain, bonds could be on-chain, stocks could be on-chain.

But when it came down to user experience, people cared about concrete issues: What can I actually buy? Where does the yield come from? How do I understand the risk?

Ondo was among the first to seize upon the relatively clear entry point: tokenized U.S. Treasuries.

In a high-interest-rate environment, on-chain capital began seeking more stable returns. Compared to DeFi yields reliant on token subsidies, traditional assets like U.S. Treasuries and money market funds already had mature pricing mechanisms and established market recognition.

Through products like OUSG and USDY, Ondo brought these traditional financial assets into the on-chain world. This was one of Nathan Allman’s most significant contributions to Ondo: he turned RWA from abstract narrative into tangible product.

Yet Ondo did not stop at on-chain U.S. Treasuries. From tokenized U.S. debt to Ondo Global Markets, and then exposure to U.S. equities and ETFs, Ondo’s vision gradually became clearer: to package traditional financial assets as on-chain financial instruments and establish a new distribution model.

Previously, RWA served merely as a supplementary option for the crypto market seeking yield.

Now, Ondo has made RWA an integral part of the on-chain financial system. U.S. Treasuries, stocks, ETFs — these assets are no longer just moved onto the blockchain; they can now reside in wallets, trade on exchanges, be embedded in institutional products, and integrate into a broader range of financial use cases.

This explains why the market reacted so strongly to Nathan Allman’s passing. Ondo is no longer just a typical project — it has become one of the most representative embodiments of the current RWA narrative. It embodies the market’s imagination around whether traditional financial assets can truly enter the on-chain world.

Yet this event also reminds the market that although RWA connects traditional assets like U.S. Treasuries, stocks, and ETFs, projects themselves remain vulnerable — especially in the crypto space — where the sudden departure of a founder can prompt external scrutiny of organizational resilience.

If Ondo continues to advance Global Markets, maintain institutional partnerships, expand distribution channels, and sustain user and market confidence, this transition may actually prove that Ondo has evolved beyond founder-driven dynamics and entered a more mature stage.

That’s precisely why discussing Ondo today cannot be limited to Ondo alone. As RWA evolves from a yield-focused product tied to U.S. Treasuries toward exposure to public market assets like U.S. equities and ETFs, it touches not only internal product innovation within crypto but also the core account, distribution, and settlement systems traditionally controlled by traditional finance.

II. Why U.S. Equity Tokenization Will Transform Traditional Brokerage Asset Gateways

When RWA shifts from yield-generating U.S. Treasuries to public market assets like U.S. equities and ETFs, it moves beyond mere on-chain yield concerns and begins to challenge the long-standing asset distribution systems dominated by traditional finance.

Historically, global users wishing to access U.S. equities typically had to go through brokerage accounts. Opening an account, KYC, funding, currency conversion, trading, clearing, and custody — all processes occurred within the traditional financial system.

For brokers, stock trading is merely the surface layer. The true value lies in user relationships and asset retention. As long as user assets remain within the brokerage account, services like margin financing, securities lending, and wealth management can continue to revolve around that account.

U.S. equity tokenization changes this by diversifying the pathways to access U.S. equity assets. Users no longer need to rely solely on traditional brokerage accounts. They can also gain exposure to U.S. equities and ETFs via exchanges, wallets, or on-chain applications.

This doesn’t mean brokers will be instantly replaced, but the previously centralized asset, trading, and distribution gateways within brokerage accounts are beginning to fragment and spill outward.

This is why Ondo, xStocks, and NYSE are entering this competition from different directions. They aren’t competing over individual stock tokens — they’re vying for new distribution positions of traditional financial assets: whoever can bring these assets to more users will have the opportunity to become the next-generation asset gateway.

III. Three Paths of U.S. Equity Tokenization: Ondo, xStocks, and NYSE

At first glance, Ondo, xStocks, and NYSE are all engaged in U.S. equity tokenization — but they represent three fundamentally distinct strategic routes.

These three paths will likely determine the ultimate form of on-chain U.S. equities.

1. Ondo: Starting from RWA Products, Building an On-Chain Financial Asset Platform

Ondo doesn’t merely aim to be a trading gateway for U.S. equities — it aims to handle issuance and distribution. It functions as an intermediary layer between traditional finance and on-chain dApps: one end connects to U.S. equities, the other links to user wallets.

This differs from the logic of traditional brokers. The core of traditional brokerage is the account system. A user opens an account, buys shares, and assets remain within the broker’s custody framework. Trading, dividends, tax handling, margin financing — all revolve around this account.

Ondo, however, seeks to transform these traditional assets into on-chain-accessible, transferable, and composable exposure instruments.

This means U.S. equities and ETFs are no longer just holdings within a brokerage account — they can flow into wallets, DEXs, lending protocols, on-chain asset management products, and other DeFi environments.

The advantage of Ondo’s approach is clear.

But its challenges are equally evident.

Products like Ondo require highly complex legal, compliance, and custody structures. The assets users purchase are typically not traditional stock account holdings but economic exposures packaged through issuing entities and legal frameworks.

Thus, Ondo functions more as an on-chain gateway for traditional assets rather than a full replication of a traditional brokerage account.

2. xStocks: Starting from the Trading Gateway, Enabling Liquidity of Stock Exposures On-Chain

xStocks, by contrast, enters through the trading gateway. Its focus is integrating tokenized stocks directly into familiar Crypto exchange environments via platforms like Kraken, Bybit, and KuCoin.

Certainly, xStocks’ offerings are not equivalent to holding actual shares. Users receive price exposure, not full shareholder rights.

It solves the problem of easier U.S. equity trading — but has yet to address deeper issues like voting rights, corporate actions, and shareholder privileges.

Beyond that, xStocks-type products face counterparty and custody risks. Even if they emphasize underlying asset backing, users ultimately depend not only on the on-chain token itself but also on whether the issuer holds the corresponding assets per rules, whether custody arrangements are transparent, whether the exchange is stable, and whether redemption and liquidity mechanisms function properly during extreme market conditions.

This is one of the key distinctions between equity tokenization and direct ownership of traditional stocks.

In a brokerage account, users benefit from a mature system of security registration, custody, and investor protection. Trading tokenized stocks on a crypto exchange requires users to additionally understand the relationships among issuers, custodians, exchanges, and on-chain smart contracts.

Thus, xStocks’ strength lies in faster, more direct access to trading. But whether it can evolve from a trading product into a more mature on-chain stock ecosystem depends on underlying asset transparency, custody structure, and ability to settle in extreme scenarios.

3. NYSE: Starting from Traditional Market Infrastructure, Building a Regulated Digital Securities Platform

NYSE’s approach diverges significantly from both Ondo and xStocks.

Ondo and xStocks originate from the crypto world, bringing U.S. equities and ETF exposures onto the blockchain. NYSE, however, starts from within the traditional securities market, aiming to digitize foundational elements like trading, settlement, registration, and rights verification.

In March 2026, ICE / NYSE signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize to build a more comprehensive market infrastructure for tokenized securities, including security registration, transfer agency, tokenized issuance, and regulatory, operational, and technical standards tailored for institutional digital securities markets.

This is the fundamental difference between NYSE’s route and on-chain projects.

For NYSE, on-chain stocks are not merely about price capture. NYSE aims to solve deeper systemic issues in securities markets: after tokenization, who confirms ownership rights? Who handles registration and transfer? How is settlement executed post-trade? How are traditional processes like dividends, voting, and corporate actions sustained?

This inevitably means NYSE’s path won’t be as fast as native crypto projects. It requires regulatory approval, coordination among traditional financial institutions, and compatibility with existing securities market rules. Even upon implementation, it will likely not fully embrace the permissionless, open DeFi model.

IV. Current Status of the Three Paths: Ondo and xStocks in Distribution, NYSE Building Rules

If Chapter III discussed the differences among the three routes, the current progress reveals distinct paces: Ondo is expanding distribution channels, xStocks is driving trading volume on CEXs, while NYSE is still advancing at the rule and infrastructure level.

1. Ondo: From Tokenized U.S. Treasuries to On-Chain Distribution Network for U.S. Equities and ETFs

Compared to early tokenized U.S. Treasury products, Ondo Global Markets has expanded its asset scope to include U.S. equities and ETFs.

More importantly, these assets are no longer confined to Ondo’s own platform — they are increasingly flowing into wallets, exchanges, and other on-chain entry points.

A pivotal milestone was the integration with Binance Wallet.

In November 2025, Ondo announced that over 100 tokenized stocks and ETFs were integrated into Binance Wallet, opening access to Binance Wallet users.

By February 2026, Binance further added 10 Ondo tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs to Binance Alpha and Binance Wallet, including AAPLon, GOOGLon, TSLAon, NVDAon, QQQon, and others.

This marks Ondo’s shift from a single-platform solution to a broader traffic gateway. Users no longer need to directly access Ondo’s platform — they can encounter these assets via Binance Wallet or Binance Alpha.

Ondo Global Markets’ asset base continues to grow. In May 2026, Ondo announced that TVL (Total Value Locked) for Ondo Global Markets surpassed $1 billion, making it the first tokenized stocks platform to reach this scale.

2. xStocks: Faster Exchange Integrations, Becoming the U.S. Equity Gateway in the Crypto World

xStocks is now integrated into multiple exchanges as a stock token entry point.

Kraken is one of the most important platforms. According to Kraken’s disclosures, xStocks currently supports over 100 tokenized U.S. equities and ETFs; since its launch in June 2025, total trading volume has exceeded $25 billion.

Beyond Kraken, exchanges like Bybit and KuCoin have also successively integrated xStocks. As more platforms join, xStocks is evolving from an experimental product on a single platform into a widely adopted U.S. equity token solution across multiple CEXs.

Based on current progress, xStocks has achieved success in three areas:

From this perspective, xStocks has preliminarily validated demand for U.S. equity tokenization within CEX environments.

3. NYSE: Slower Pace, But Advancing at the Regulatory and Infrastructure Level

NYSE has not yet generated user-level trading volume like Ondo or xStocks. Progress is primarily occurring at the regulatory and infrastructure levels.

In December 2025, DTC received a SEC Staff No-Action Letter allowing it to provide tokenization services for DTC-held assets under specific conditions.

Subsequently, NYSE began advancing its own platform. In January 2026, ICE / NYSE announced development of a tokenized securities platform, aiming to support 24/7 trading, instant settlement, dollar-denominated orders, and stablecoin funding channels — though the platform still requires regulatory approval.

In March 2026, NYSE signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize to advance digital transfer agency, tokenized issuance, and regulatory, operational, and technical standards required for institutional digital securities markets.

This month, NYSE Texas submitted Rule 7.39 “Tokenized Securities” amendments, enabling participants meeting DTC Pilot Program criteria to trade tokenized forms of DTC-eligible securities on the exchange.

As of now, NYSE’s U.S. equity tokenization solution is not yet fully launched. A realistic timeline suggests small-scale pilot programs may emerge in the second half of 2026. Achieving stable trading volume and broader adoption by brokers and users may not occur until after 2027.

The U.S. digital asset regulatory framework is also aligning in this direction. In May 2026, the CLARITY Act clearly signaled a direction: once securities are tokenized, they do not escape the securities market framework simply because they are on-chain — instead, new methods for trading, settlement, and disclosure must be found within the existing securities regulatory regime.

V. Conclusion: The Next Step of RWA Is Breaking Down Borders in Finance

The most intriguing aspect of U.S. equity tokenization is not just providing users with another way to buy U.S. equities — it’s enabling traditional financial assets to enter a more open and liquid network.

When U.S. equities, U.S. Treasuries, and ETFs can be purchased with stablecoins, held in wallets, and distributed via exchanges, they cease being mere assets locked in a brokerage account and begin to exhibit stronger global liquidity.

In the short term, Ondo and xStocks may move faster. They are closer to crypto-native users and can more easily generate early liquidity through wallets, CEXs, and on-chain apps. For users, these products first solve the question: “Can I get U.S. equity exposure more conveniently?”

But in the long run, regulated infrastructure routes like NYSE will not be absent.

If DTC, NYSE, Securitize, and related regulatory frameworks mature progressively, tokenized securities may evolve beyond simple on-chain price exposure to resemble digitally recognized assets in traditional securities markets. At that stage, on-chain projects will no longer face the question “Do users trade?” but rather “Can we integrate into a clearer registration, custody, settlement, and rights confirmation system?”

Therefore, U.S. equity tokenization is unlikely to become a zero-sum battle between crypto-native and TradFi routes.

A more probable outcome is that in the short term, projects like Ondo and xStocks lead user education, drive liquidity, and establish use cases; in the long term, traditional infrastructure players like NYSE and DTC fill in regulatory oversight, settlement, and rights confirmation.

At that point, for crypto projects to remain central, they must do more than serve as front-end trading gateways — they must forge deeper connections with regulated underlying market structures.

This defines the future competitive edge of RWA.

It’s not merely about moving a few stocks onto the chain — it’s about who can balance open liquidity with compliant infrastructure, enabling traditional financial assets to truly enter a more globalized and trustworthy digital market.

Author: Changan I Biteye Content Team