Ondo and Chainlink Unlocked DeFi Loans Against U.S. Stocks: Key Details

Ondo Finance has partnered with Chainlink to launch live on-chain price feeds for tokenized U.S. equities on the Ethereum blockchain. The integration enables users to borrow stablecoins against tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds for the first time in decentralized finance, with initial support for SPYon, QQQon, and TSLAon now live on the Euler lending platform.

The collaboration addresses a key limitation that has prevented tokenized securities from functioning as productive collateral in DeFi markets. While tokenized stocks have provided on-chain exposure to traditional equities, they previously lacked the infrastructure required for protocols to accept them as collateral for lending and borrowing.

What Does This Partnership Enable?

Chainlink now serves as the official oracle solution for Ondo Global Markets, the largest tokenized securities platform by volume. The integration provides institutional-grade pricing data that reflects the full economic reality of underlying assets, including corporate actions such as dividends and stock splits.

Users can now supply Ondo tokenized stocks to lending markets and borrow stablecoins against them without selling their positions. This transforms static holdings into productive capital that can generate liquidity while maintaining long-term equity exposure.

The initial deployment on Euler supports three tokenized assets:

• SPYon (S&P 500 ETF)
• QQQon (Nasdaq-100 ETF)
• TSLAon (Tesla stock)

Support for Ondo's full suite of tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs is scheduled for future releases.

How Do Tokenized Stocks Work as Collateral?

For DeFi protocols to accept tokenized equities as collateral, two foundational requirements must be met. First, the assets need deep liquidity to support near-instant liquidations without significant price slippage during volatile market conditions. Second, protocols require high-integrity pricing data that accurately reflects all economic events affecting the underlying securities.

Liquidity Requirements

Ondo tokenized stocks and ETFs inherit liquidity directly from traditional equity venues including Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange. This connection to established markets enables tokenized assets to trade with depth and efficiency that rivals their underlying securities, providing DeFi protocols with the ability to exit collateral positions cleanly during market stress.

Pricing Data Infrastructure

Chainlink Data Feeds deliver the second critical component by providing institutional-grade pricing tailored specifically for Ondo's tokenized equities. Each feed captures the complete economic reality of the underlying asset through real-time market data aggregation from multiple sources, enabling DeFi protocols to price positions accurately and manage risk effectively.

"DeFi shouldn't stop at crypto," said Jonathan Han, CEO at Euler. "By enabling tokenized stocks as collateral on Euler users can borrow against their securities and unlock liquidity without selling."

Which Platforms Support Tokenized Equity Lending?

Euler currently provides the only live lending market for Ondo tokenized stocks on Ethereum. The platform's modular architecture allows users to supply tokenized equities and borrow stablecoins against them, with borrowing limits and collateral requirements determined by risk parameters specific to each asset.

This deployment serves as validation that tokenized stocks can function alongside crypto-native assets as robust, risk-managed collateral in decentralized lending markets. The integration demonstrates how traditional securities can be bridged into DeFi infrastructure while maintaining the safety standards expected by institutional participants.

Beyond lending markets, Ondo plans to expand tokenized equities into vaults, structured products, and additional DeFi applications as the ecosystem matures.

What Role Does Risk Management Play?

Sentora oversees risk management for the tokenized equity lending market, defining critical safety parameters through deep asset-level analysis and ongoing monitoring. The firm establishes collateral factors, borrow caps, and liquidation thresholds that ensure system stability during volatile market conditions.

"Retail investors are holding enormous amounts of value in equities that, until now, they haven't been able to do very much with," said Anthony Demartino, CEO at Sentora. "Tokenization changes that by allowing those assets to be used productively, without forcing people to sell and potentially lose long term upside."

This modular, risk-isolated approach provides a controlled environment for introducing new asset classes into DeFi while unlocking capital efficiency for users who want to access liquidity without selling their long-term holdings.

What Comes Next for Tokenized Securities?

The race to tokenize U.S. equities continues to accelerate as regulatory frameworks develop. Nasdaq filed for a rule change with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2024 that would enable it to list and trade tokenized versions of publicly traded stocks within its regulated exchange framework.

The SEC issued a no-action letter in December 2024 allowing a Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation subsidiary to launch a tokenization service for securities already held in DTC custody. In January 2025, the New York Stock Exchange announced plans to develop a blockchain-based platform for trading tokenized stocks and ETFs with 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement, pending regulatory approval.

On the crypto side, more than 60 tokenized U.S. stocks launched in June 2024 across exchanges Kraken and Bybit through Backed Finance's xStocks brand, though the product remains unavailable to U.S. customers. Robinhood introduced tokenized versions of nearly 500 U.S. stocks for EU users in October 2024 and has since launched a public testnet for Robinhood Chain, an Ethereum layer-2 network built on Arbitrum.

Conclusion

The integration of Chainlink price feeds with Ondo Global Markets assets establishes the infrastructure for tokenized stocks to function as collateral in DeFi lending markets. With institutional-grade liquidity inherited from traditional exchanges and reliable on-chain pricing data, tokenized equities can now support lending, borrowing, and potentially structured products across decentralized finance protocols. The initial deployment on Euler demonstrates that traditional securities can be integrated into blockchain-based financial systems while maintaining risk management standards required for institutional participation.

Resources 

1. Chainlink on X: Post on Feb. 11

2. Report by The Street: Ondo partners with Chainlink to bring tokenized stocks to DeFi

3. US SEC No Action Letter: No Action, Interpretive and Exemptive Letters

4. Report by Defiant: Kamino Becomes First Major DeFi Lender to Accept Tokenized Stocks as Collateral