21Shares Files Amended S-1 for Spot ONDO ETF: What Changed

Crypto asset manager 21Shares submitted a revised S-1 registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday, seeking approval to launch the 21Shares Ondo ETF. If approved, this product would become the first U.S. spot exchange-traded fund tracking ONDO, the native token of the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization platform Ondo Finance.

The revised filing adopts a cash-based creation and redemption model and introduces a structure of dual custody. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) is intended to list on the Nasdaq exchange, bringing both institutional and retail investors in a regulated way into the RWA space.

This follows the initial filing made in July 2025 regarding the 21Shares Ondo Trust. The updated proposal changes the fund from a private trust structure to a public ETF, reflecting the increasing institutional interest in blockchain-based yield products and tokenized securities.

Structural and regulatory updates

The amended filing includes several structural updates to meet current regulatory expectations for spot crypto ETFs. The fund will employ a cash creation and redemption mechanism. 

Under this, authorized participants will be able to make a cash deposit, leading to the creation of shares, which shall in turn be utilized by the fund for buying ONDO tokens via a third-party intermediary. So, there would be no involvement of brokers in trading in digital assets. It shifts any trading costs or market slippage away from the fund’s net asset value and onto the authorized participants.

Dual custody model

To improve security and operational resilience, 21Shares has transitioned from a single-custodian model to a dual-custody arrangement. Although initially the Coinbase Custody Trust Company was the only custodian mentioned in the filing for the 21Shares Ondo Trust, in the recently amended filing for the 21Shares Ondo ETF, there is a mention of the BitGo Bank & Trust as the second custodian.

In the filing, the asset management approach is discussed in greater detail. This includes an asset split into a ‘Cold Vault Balance’ and a ‘Hot Vault Balance.’

Passive investment vehicle

The 21Shares Ondo ETF is structured as a passive investment vehicle and tracks the CME CF Ondo Finance Dollar Reference Rate. With this structure, investors have a way to invest in the price of ONDO tokens but need not go through the technical exercise of handling digital wallets and directly engaging with decentralized technologies.

Ondo Finance, founded in 2021 by former Goldman Sachs associates Nathan Allman and Pinku Suran, rose to the top within the RWA sector. It tokenizes traditional financial products such as U.S. Treasury bonds and money market products. Supporting this is the ONDO token.

Recent platform traction

Ondo has seen major traction recently following the prominent integration with MetaMask. On February 3, MetaMask announced that non-U.S. users can access more than 200 tokenized U.S. assets, including stocks like NVIDIA and Apple, as well as gold and silver ETFs, directly through the wallet via Ondo Global Markets.

The SEC’s review of the 21Shares Ondo ETF could follow one of three possible approval paths. The registration statement could become effective within 20 to 75 days after the amendment, meaning a potential launch date between late February and mid-April 2026.

Future market implications

If approved, the 21Shares Ondo ETF would acknowledge ONDO as a regulated asset class and could trigger a surge in similar filings for other RWA-focused tokens. This would allow trillions of dollars in traditional capital to enter on-chain ecosystems.

The product’s success will likely hinge on the overall performance of the RWA sector and the continued stability of U.S. interest rates, which impact the appeal of Ondo’s underlying yield-bearing products.

Also Read: Bitwise Files with the SEC to Launch First Ever Uniswap ETF