- 21Shares aims to be first with a US ETF tied to ONDO, letting investors gain exposure without buying the token themselves.
- The filing adds cash-based creation/redemption and dual custody, shifting trading costs to market makers, not the fund.
- Approval could come as early as late Feb–April 2026, as ONDO gains traction via MetaMask and major backers.
21Shares has updated its US exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing to track ONDO, the token from the real-world asset tokenization platform. The crypto ETP firm submitted the amended S-1 document with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas highlighted the filing on X, joking that the product’s name “sounds like a planet in Star Wars.” The updated filing rebrands the trust as the “21Shares Ondo ETF” and targets a Nasdaq listing, pending regulatory approval.
The move marks 21Shares as the first asset manager aiming to bring ONDO exposure to mainstream brokerage products. Originally filed in July 2025 as the “21Shares Ondo Trust,” the fund intends to hold ONDO passively while tracking its dollar price using a third-party benchmark. Hence, investors would gain exposure to ONDO without directly purchasing the token.
Key Changes in the Amended Filing
The revised filing introduces several operational updates. Basket sizes for share creation and redemption are now set at 10,000 shares per block, affecting how market makers arbitrage premiums or discounts.
Additionally, brokers can create shares by depositing cash, which the fund uses to buy ONDO through a third party, ensuring token delivery to custody accounts. Conversely, cash redemptions involve transferring ONDO to a counterparty for sale, with proceeds returned to the fund. Notably, any trading costs or slippage fall on authorized participants, not the fund.
Moreover, 21Shares has shifted from a single-custodian model with Coinbase to a dual-custodian setup, adding BitGo Bank & Trust, N.A., a federally chartered national trust bank. The amendment also clarifies asset storage, distinguishing between “Cold Vault Balance” for long-term holdings and “Hot Vault Balance” for settlement purposes.
Broader Implications and MetaMask Partnership
The SEC’s new ETF review process gives three potential approval paths, with registration potentially live 20 to 75 days after the amendment, possibly between late February and mid-April 2026.
ONDO has gained attention from World Liberty Financial, affiliated with President Trump’s family, which bought $500,000 worth of the token last year. Additionally, MetaMask now allows eligible non-US users to access 200 tokenized US assets, including ETFs and commodities, via Ondo Finance.