Tokenized assets pioneer Ondo Finance is embroiled in a power struggle that seems to have made investors and traders uneasy.
Kathleen Allman, the mother of the late Ondo Finance founder, has gone to court to remove the current CEO, Ian De Bode, and gain control of the firm.
According to an AMBCrypto source, Kathleen Allman filed the lawsuit in the Delaware Court of Chancery. She alleged that De Bode unlawfully seized control of Ondo Finance after the founder’s death.
Nathan Allman, the late Ondo Finance founder, died on the 25th of May. On the same day, De Bode reportedly appointed himself as CEO, per Kathleen Allman.
Following the unfortunate news of the death, the company announced on an X post that Ian De Bode, a longtime President of the firm, would serve as the CEO.
Who controls Ondo Finance after founder’s death?
However, at the time of his death, Nathan Allman was the majority, controlling shareholder of the firm. This voting power was legally transferred to his estate.
As the representative of the estate, Kathleen Allman assumed the majority of the voting shares. In other words, she has the legal authority to reconstitute the board of Ondo Finance.
On the 24th of July, Kathleen Allman had a formal board meeting. They voted to remove De Bode and officially appoint her as the interim CEO. However, De Bode downplayed the move as “meritless,” adding that,
Kathy Allman’s decision to file a lawsuit is regretful. Ms. Allman’s claims are meritless, and that will come through clearly in court. The company continues to have the support of key stakeholders, including its lead investors and the Ondo Foundation.
Investors react defensively to Ondo control battle
Ondo Finance was founded in 2021. It was backed by Coinbase, Wintermute, Tiger Global and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. It remains to be seen how the competing interests will be resolved amid the control battle.
However, some investors reacted defensively after the update. Over 10M ONDO tokens had hit exchanges, suggesting some insiders had prior information of the lawsuit.
In fact, some of the moves were directly linked to Ondo Finance team wallets. The selling pressure sent the token crashing by about 9% in the past 48 hours.
If the legal battles sour the market sentiment further, the pullback could extend to the next support at $0.30 or the early 2026 price range of $0.24-$0.30.
Final Summary
- The mother of the late Ondo founder has stirred a succession battle and wants Ian De Bode removed as CEO
- Over 10M ONDO tokens, some from the project team, hit exchanges as selling pressure deepened