Ondo Finance, the tokenized real-world asset issuer, has enabled traders to post its stock and ETF tokens as collateral for perpetual futures trading, according to The Block. The move lets holders of Ondo's 100+ tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs put those positions to work in leverage markets without selling them.
The feature builds on Ondo's existing 24/7 onchain access to equities, which the firm launched last year. Traders can now borrow against tokenized Apple, Tesla, SPY, and other holdings to open perp positions on supported venues, effectively using traditional equities as leverage fuel for crypto derivatives.
The collateral mechanism lets Ondo holders avoid liquidating their stock tokens to raise capital for derivatives plays. Instead, they can lock positions and draw margin. The exact collateral ratios, supported perp platforms, and liquidation thresholds were not disclosed by The Block.
Ondo's move reflects growing appetite among crypto platforms to deepen connections between tokenized equities and derivatives infrastructure. Centralized and decentralized exchanges have been racing to integrate RWA collateral, betting that blending equity and crypto leverage markets makes both stickier. The integration barriers remain steep—custody reconciliation, liquidation mechanics, and cross-chain settlement all require precise orchestration—but Ondo's step signals the plumbing is advancing.
Tokenized stocks have attracted early trader interest but remain a niche within crypto. Most volume still concentrates in spot trading and custody, not leverage. Ondo's collateral feature could nudge adoption by letting existing stock holders extract yield-like returns through margin mechanics, though perp losses pose obvious downside for traders unfamiliar with leverage in either market.