The Power Center of the Ethereum RWA Ecosystem: How Ondo Finance Holds 11.6% of TVL

Ondo Finance’s position in the Ethereum RWA track is once again reaffirmed. According to the latest data, this protocol, which focuses on on-chain real-world asset tokenization, currently has about 77% of its total locked value deployed on Ethereum, accounting for 11.6% of the total TVL in the Ethereum RWA ecosystem, making it a leading protocol in this track. In the current environment where institutional capital is accelerating its entry and RWA is moving from concept to application, what does this data behind these figures reflect?

Ondo Finance’s Ecosystem Position

From Liquidity Services to Real-World Asset Tokenization

Ondo Finance was established in 2021, initially focusing on liquidity services. However, as the DeFi market entered a bear phase and on-chain liquidity shrank, the project made a strategic shift in January 2023, fully betting on the RWA track. This shift proved foresight — currently, the institutional-grade RWA tokenization market size has approached $20 billion, and Ondo Finance, as one of the five major infrastructure protocols, is occupying a core position in this wave.

Why Ethereum

77% of Ondo Finance’s assets are locked on Ethereum, accounting for 11.6% of the total Ethereum RWA TVL. This is no coincidence. As the most mature smart contract platform globally, Ethereum has advantages in institutional applications, compliance infrastructure, and liquidity depth. From Ondo Finance’s perspective, Ethereum provides the most stable settlement layer and the broadest institutional recognition.

Signals from Market Institutional Deployment

Continuous Inflow of Institutional Funds

Relevant data shows that in Q1 2026, U.S. spot crypto ETFs attracted over $669 million in a single day, with RWA defined by Bernstein as a “breakout trend,” and institutional capital share expected to rise to 70%. BlackRock launched an $8 billion dedicated fund, with Coinbase and Ondo Finance becoming core targets. This indicates that large institutions are not just observing RWA but are deploying at scale.

Accelerating Application Deployment

Recently, Ondo Finance integrated with TermMax, bringing tokenized US stocks and ETFs into a complete financial structure. This marks RWA moving from the demonstration phase to the usable phase — evolving from the theoretical “issuance of on-chain stocks” to “trading on-chain stocks with fixed interest rate mechanisms.”

Recent Risks and Opportunities

Upcoming Unlocking Pressure

According to reports, Ondo Finance will unlock approximately 1.939 billion ONDO tokens on January 18th, worth about $780 million. This is a significant liquidity injection. In the short term, the market has already anticipated this — the RWA sector declined 3.51% in 24 hours, and ONDO fell 3.35%. But in the long term, such unlocks often present opportunities for institutional accumulation.

Long-term Trend Remains Unchanged

Despite recent corrections, the logic behind institutional deployment in RWA remains unchanged. The reason Ondo Finance is valued by institutions is because it is genuinely working towards “financial democratization” — bringing Wall Street bonds, stocks, and ETFs onto the chain, leveraging DeFi’s efficiency and transparency, combined with TradFi’s compliance framework. This direction is correct.

Summary

Ondo Finance’s 11.6% of TVL in the Ethereum RWA ecosystem reflects two realities: first, that this protocol has indeed chosen the right direction, capturing the turning point from RWA concept to application; second, that Ethereum’s role as a settlement layer has been recognized by institutions, and the RWA track is transforming from niche innovation into a standard allocation for large capital. Short-term unlocking pressures are worth monitoring, but in the long run, Ondo Finance’s core position in the RWA ecosystem is likely to be further strengthened. The flow of institutional capital often best indicates the true value of the track.