Private AI companies are some of the most sought-after assets in finance, and most investors cannot buy them. Ondo Finance is trying to change that with a new tokenized product.
đ The news
Per Cointelegraph, Ondo launched Ondo Private Markets on October 6, offering tokenized notes linked to the valuations of unnamed pre-IPO AI companies. They can trade 24/7 in self-custody wallets and on secondary markets, and trading was expected to begin the same week.
đ How it works
âą Holders get economic exposure, not shares; there is no direct ownership of the private company.
âą Payouts depend on the value realized per common share at a qualifying liquidity event, such as an IPO.
âą Ondo plans future products tied to robotics, cybersecurity, biotech and infrastructure.
đ The numbers
âą Ondo Stocks holds more than $1 billion in total value locked across 450+ tokenized stocks and ETFs, per Cointelegraph.
âą $ONDO trades near $0.475, down about 2.5% in 24 hours, per CoinGecko, while still on its trending list.
âïž Bull vs bear case
âą Bull: private markets are a huge pool of value, and onchain access with 24/7 trading is something traditional platforms rarely offer.
âą Bear: notes tied to unnamed companies carry issuer and valuation risk, and secondary prices may drift far from what holders eventually receive.
đ What to watch next
Trading volume once the notes go live, and how regulators view tokenized exposure to private companies. Robinhood and Citigroup have both moved into private-share access this year, so competition for this market is building on both sides.
ââââââââââââ
đĄ My take: Tokenizing public stocks was step one; private markets are where the access gap is widest. In my view, transparency about the underlying companies will decide whether this scales.
đŹ Would you buy a token tied to a company you cannot name?
#Ondo #RWA