Ondo takes tokenized assets to Australia in new market push

Ondo Finance has signed a memorandum of understanding with Openmarkets Group, an Australian financial services provider, to explore bringing its tokenized financial products to eligible investors in Australia.  Tokenization is the process of representing real-world assets like stocks, bonds or Treasury bills as digital tokens on a blockchain, making them tradeable around the clock without the intermediaries that traditional markets require. The collaboration will evaluate pathways for distributing Ondo's existing products in Australia, including USDY, its yield-bearing token backed by U.S. Treasuries, and Ondo Stocks, which offer tokenized exposure to U.S.-listed equities, as well as the potential tokenization of Australian-listed securities and infrastructure connecting Australian markets with the broader onchain economy. Related: Cathie Wood dumps $65 million in crypto ahead of CLARITY vote Local rails, global products Openmarkets holds an Australian Financial Services Licence and operates brokerage, clearing, settlement and wealth management services across the country.  Australia recently passed the Digital Asset Framework Bill, which requires digital asset exchanges and platforms to carry the same licence, meaning Openmarkets' existing regulatory standing positions it to distribute tokenized products without needing new approvals. Ondo currently holds over $3.5 billion in total value locked across its products and lists more than 440 tokenized securities through Ondo Stocks. Its institutional partners include BlackRock, Franklin Templeton and J.P. Morgan's Kinexys. The Australian MOU adds another distribution channel to a footprint that already spans multiple blockchain networks and exchange partners globally, including a recent integration with LBank's 25 million registered users. Trending on TheStreet Roundtable: Hunter Biden finally finds an Apple product he likes Senate votes Tuesday on advancing CLARITY Act Musk offers radical fix to welfare state bankruptcy A $22 trillion opportunity, still early Openmarkets estimates the global tokenized asset market will reach $22 trillion by 2030, according to Financial Standard.  The MOU is a first step, any resulting products remain subject to definitive agreements, due diligence, regulatory analysis and applicable approvals.  But for Ondo, Australia represents what the company called a "natural next market" in its broader Asia-Pacific expansion. Related: HIVE's BUZZ HPC appoints 50-year capital markets veteran to its board