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Traditional markets have recently received an on-chain promotion. Binance’s BNB chain and Ondo Global Markets made it possible.
The crypto world is rejoicing over some enchantingly good news: Wall Street is no longer the exclusive, complex space limited to the ultra-rich investor or the ultimate tech geek. Ondo Global Markets, Ondo Finance’s blockchain-based platform that offers on-chain exposure to U.S. financial assets, partnered up with one of the most widespread and efficient blockchains around: Binance’s BNB Chain. This collaboration marks the beginning of a new era for investors, making tokenized U.S. securities easier to access worldwide (U.S. citizens and other countries excluded for now). This undertaking consolidates Ondo Finance’s role in bridging the gap between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi), bringing both worlds – and their benefits – closer to everyday investors.
Both actors have been recognized as pioneers in their niches, as you’ll see. In short, Ondo Finance revolutionized real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, BNB Chain brought Ethereum-level functionality to millions of users at a fraction of the cost, and Binance became the leading online crypto exchange worldwide by volume with its one-of-a-kind, fast, multilingual, and internationally accessible platform. Ondo is extending its reach to an astronomical, highly active community – that of Binance. The newfangled, tangled ecosystem we’re exploring right now has an immense user base, attractive transaction fees, and solid infrastructure that make it the perfect starting point for democratizing access to assets that only accredited or institutional investors could buy not long ago. BNB has long reflected the network’s trajectory of growth. And as Binance continues to expand its ecosystem, the BNB price will continue to mirror the growing usage and influence of the BNB Chain.
More about the latest launch is explained in the sections below.
How millions of BNB Chain users can access 100+ tokenized ETFs and stocks
First things first, it’s essential to understand the role of the BNB Chain, for it is not just another blockchain. It’s a whole ecosystem that fuels thousands of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), games, wallets, decentralized apps (dApps), and exchanges, serving millions of users each day. According to Yahoo Finance, the BNB Chain has around 3.4MN daily active users, with on-chain activity reportedly rising over time thanks to milestones such as the growing number of dApps. The blockchain platform has top-level efficiency and scalability, two features that made it a top contender for Ondo. However, activity is expected to move to other chains, such as Solana, as well.
BNB Chain now boasts over 100 tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the latter offered by A-listers like BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, Invesco, and more. Ondo is a standout platform, being the first to bring tokenized (fragmented) company equities and ETFs to the BNB Chain at this scale. Investors outside the U.S. – except for some parts of Africa, Asia, and Europe (Russia) – can now invest in bits of a stock or ETFs instead of needing to pay skyrocketing amounts of money on them to gain exposure to these industries.
A quick overview of these tokens
Ondo is issuing tokens labeled as tokenized ETFs or stocks, adding the suffix “on” to the name of the stock or ETF. For instance, you’ll see acronyms like the following:
- TSLAon: Tesla stock
- MSFon: Microsoft stock
- NVDAon: NVIDIA stock
- SPYon: SPDR S&P 500 ETF
- VOOon: Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
- QQQon: Nasdaq 100 ETF
- IVVon: iShares S&P 500 ETF
In other words, you, as an investor, can buy tokens on the blockchain (on Ethereum, for instance), which represent your stocks’ value. They’re converted into on-chain digital versions and offer fragmented value for assets like the aforementioned stocks and ETFs. Notably, they’re now found as native BEP-20 tokens on BNB Chain, aka the form of digital asset developed on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). If you’re familiar with Ethereum’s standard, ERC-20, know that BEP-20 is the equivalent of that standard for the BNB network.
This standard makes the development of a great variety of tokens possible, including utility tokens, stablecoins, and even “pegged” models of tokens inspired by competing blockchains.
About tokenizing and investing in tokenized assets
To tokenize and invest in tokenized assets means leveraging fractional ownership of these investment vehicles, thus engaging with ultra-expensive assets at a fraction of the usual cost. The new ecosystem offers around-the-clock trading on the chain (unlike marketplaces like Nasdaq100, or the NY Stock Exchange that’s closed during weekends and nights), and makes assets cheaper thanks to the fractional model. Basically, there are unique flexibility and liquidity advantages, and the entry barriers are lower than ever – plus, there’s no middleman, delay, or minimum investment limit.
This approach makes the market available for a wider audience via blockchain wallets. By combining DeFi efficiency with real-world assets, Ondo bridges the gap between complex Wall Street investments and everyday crypto users, building an actually inclusive investment space.
A word on security and transparency
Two of a project’s most important elements, security and transparency are notable advantages when it comes to trading. Blockchain surpasses traditional ledgers because it records every transaction publicly and immutably, allowing investors to track asset ownership and movement in real time – unlike traditional accounts that depend on centralized record-keeping.
The main idea is that tokenized assets represent a growing trend in investing, combining the reliability of real-world financial instruments with the efficiency and inclusivity of decentralized systems, among other benefits.
The biggest FAQ: How to invest in those tokenized assets?
First things first, you should find out whether investing in such tokenized assets is feasible in your country, for there are regulatory restrictions in place. Assuming you’re in a supported region, you’ll need to create a compatible blockchain wallet that interacts with the Ondo Global Markets platform.
You connect your wallet to the platform, check out the available tokenized ETFs and stocks, and purchase fractional amounts based on your preferences and experience. Preferably, you’ll start modestly and remain committed to learning as you go.
