Ondo Finance Expands Global Markets Alliance With Zodia Custody and MEXC

Ondo Finance announced the addition of Zodia Custody and MEXC to its Global Markets Alliance. The move comes amid surging demand for tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) and increasing institutional interest in decentralized financial instruments.

With this development, the Alliance grows stronger in its mission to build secure, compliant, and scalable infrastructure for on-chain capital markets. 

Zodia Custody: Strengthening Institutional Trust

Zodia Custody, backed by legacy financial giants like Standard Chartered, Northern Trust, SBI Holdings, National Australia Bank, and Emirates NBD, brings deep credibility to the Alliance.

Its reputation as an institution-first digital asset custodian makes it an ideal partner for Ondo’s vision of regulated tokenized finance. Zodia's infrastructure is tailored for asset managers, hedge funds, banks, governments, and high-net-worth investors who demand high-security custody for digital assets.

The firm already supports on-chain initiatives across TON blockchain, Berachain, and Polymesh—all of which are gaining attention for their work in decentralized finance and tokenized compliance solutions.

MEXC Exchange: Unlocking Retail Access

While Zodia brings institutional muscle, MEXC brings scale. As one of the most active global crypto exchanges, MEXC opens the door for millions of users to access tokenized products directly from their existing crypto portfolios.

With MEXC in the mix, Ondo’s suite of tokenized assets—U.S. stocks, exchange-traded funds, and money market funds—will become more accessible to everyday traders and investors. This democratization of access is key to growing the adoption of tokenized financial instruments.

MEXC’s presence also strengthens the liquidity layer of tokenized finance. It bridges centralized trading infrastructure with the fast-evolving world of on-chain RWAs, making sure users don’t have to choose between security and convenience.

What is the Global Markets Alliance?

Launched by Ondo Finance, the Global Markets Alliance is a collaborative initiative to build a unified tokenized financial ecosystem. Its goal is to establish standards, pathways, and infrastructure for bringing real-world financial assets on-chain in a compliant and scalable way.

The Alliance focuses on a wide range of assets:

• Tokenized U.S. stocks
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)
• Money market funds
• Private credit instruments

By tokenizing these traditionally exclusive instruments, the Alliance hopes to open capital markets to a new generation of investors while increasing efficiency, transparency, and liquidity.

Other prominent members of the Alliance include: Solana Foundation, BitGo, Trust Wallet, 1inch, Fireblocks, LayerZero, Rainbow Wallet, Jupiter, and Bitget, which joined just last week.

Interest in Tokenized RWAs Is Booming

The demand for regulated exposure to tokenized RWAs is at an all-time high. Volatile traditional yields have pushed both retail and institutional investors to seek alternatives that offer transparency, liquidity, and round-the-clock access.

BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and Fidelity Investments have already entered the space, adding credibility and momentum. Ondo’s recent partnerships are part of a growing trend where Wall Street is quietly but steadily building infrastructure for tokenized finance.

Tokenization: Not Just a Trend

The core promise of tokenized RWAs lies in their utility:

• 24/7 trading availability
• Fractional ownership of traditional assets
• Global accessibility
• Instant settlement via blockchain

Instead of relying on outdated systems, institutions can offer modern products on secure, transparent, and programmable networks.

Ondo Finance: Leading the RWA Revolution?

Ondo Finance is already recognized for pioneering work in real-world asset tokenization. Its flagship product, USDY, is a tokenized U.S. Treasury offering 4.25% APY, with over $684 million in TVL across multiple blockchains.

Ondo also recently revealed plans to bring USDY natively to Sei Network, a Layer-1 blockchain with over 821% year-on-year growth and more than $1.28 billion in TVL. 

Moreover, 21Shares, a leading crypto asset manager, recently filed with the U.S. SEC to launch a spot ETF backed directly by ONDO tokens.

This product, if approved, would give traditional investors seamless access to ONDO’s price movements—no wallets, private keys, or exchanges required. The ETF will track the CME CF Ondo Finance-Dollar Reference Rate, ensuring regulated price discovery.