Ondo Finance Introduces Proxy Voting for $700 Million in Tokenized Equities

Ondo Finance is bridging the gap between tokenized equities and traditional ones by providing investors with a means to engage in corporate decision-making. The newly introduced feature, developed in collaboration with Broadridge Financial Solutions, enables holders of over 250 tokenized securities on Ondo's platform to access company documents and submit their voting preferences via Broadridge's ProxyVote system. By logging in with their crypto wallets, investors can access tools and documents typically reserved for traditional brokerage accounts. This development comes as tokenized equities experience rapid growth, with over $1.1 billion in value locked, having tripled in size over the past year, according to RWA.xyz data. As the largest issuer in this sector, Ondo has more than $700 million in tokenized stocks and ETFs on its Global Markets platform, catering to non-U.S. investors. The addition of proxy voting to equity tokens is significant, as these offerings often lacked basic governance rights. Although Ondo's tokens remain separate from the underlying shares and do not grant direct shareholder rights, the new system allows investors to express their preferences, which Ondo can then apply when voting the shares it holds. "This development aligns with Ondo's vision of making traditional financial assets more accessible," stated Matthieu de Vergnes, Ondo's global head of institutional, in an interview with CoinDesk. "Investors benefit from the advantages of being on a blockchain, including free transferability and compatibility with DeFi, while also gaining the governance rights associated with the underlying assets." Broadridge, which processes large volumes of proxy votes in traditional markets, is extending its infrastructure to blockchain systems. The goal is to support both digital and conventional assets within the same workflows, providing investors with the same level of auditability, transparency, and compliance. "This will significantly contribute to making the tokenized world more scalable, thereby establishing trust with end investors," said Danielle Gurrieri, senior vice president and head of product management at Broadridge.