Ondo Finance Receives Liechtenstein Approval to Offer ETFs, Tokenised Stocks

US-based tokenisation platform Ondo Global Finance has gained regulatory approval in Europe to offer its users tokenised stocks and ETFs. The licence granted by the Liechtenstein Financial Market Authority (FMA) allows Ondo to “passport” its services across 30 European countries, including the 27 European Union (EU) members plus Norway and Iceland. As per the tokenisation platform, this decision is a major step towards the convergence of traditional financial assets and blockchain infrastructure for over 500 million potential investors, while giving access to regulated on-chain exposure to US markets. 

Liechtenstein Licence Expands Ondo's Tokenised Asset Access Across the EEA

After this approval, Ondo will provide an extensive list of stocks and ETFs represented as tokenised assets on-chain, which enables the European Economic Area (EEA) retail and institutional users to gain access to blockchain-based tokens. The company says that its tokenised securities platform provides a regulatory framework to access digital assets, and fundraising and platform metrics indicate that it has already processed over $1 billion (roughly Rs. 8,870 crore) in volume. Ondo claims that the FMA's authorisation is based on Liechtenstein's passporting system, which permits locally licensed services to operate throughout the EEA. 

Implementation of Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) has accelerated the regulatory activity across Europe, and as a result, several significant exchanges, such as Bitpanda, OKX, and Crypto.com, have secured licenses to operate throughout the EEA under a single set of rules. An increasing number of Web3 companies that see Europe as a favorable jurisdiction for regulated digital asset services are attracted to the MiCA regulation. Ondo's approval is part of a larger movement in the region towards more precise, passportable compliance requirements for products connected to cryptocurrencies. 

Other firms might also be spurred to apply for similar regulatory approvals for ETFs and tokenised stocks in Europe. Ondo's success could accelerate the adoption of blockchain-based asset models in wider regions and aligns with a rise in institutional interest in tokenised real-world assets (RWAs). 

As per the company, the next step will include listing more securities, supporting more tokenised products, and growing into new chains while maintaining oversight from regulators.