Ondo Finance acquires blockchain dev Strangelove as part of RWA expansion strategy

Ondo Finance said Monday it has acquired blockchain developer Strangelove in an effort to bolster its ability to bring real-world assets onchain.

"This acquisition reinforces our commitment to building the foundational infrastructure to bring financial markets onchain," Ondo founder and CEO Nathan Allman said in a statement.

Ondo's acquisition of Strangelove follows the crypto firm saying earlier this month that it and fund manager Pantera Capital plan to invest $250 million in RWA projects. Then, in short order, Ondo said it would acquire Oasis Pro and gain access to a broker-dealer licensed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The tokenization of real-world assets like securities, real estate, private credit, and several other valuable assets has been gaining momentum in recent months. Efforts to bring U.S. equities and private company shares have, in particular, attracted a lot of interest as of late. A joint report from Ripple and Boston Consulting Group projects that the tokenized asset market could exceed $18 trillion by 2033.

In its statement explaining its motivation for buying Strangelove, Ondo said the acquisition would position it "as the only full-stack tokenized asset platform with omnichain asset issuance." The firm added that "Strangelove’s engineering depth and proven execution will help us bring scalable, interoperable financial products to a global audience."

According to Ondo's statement, Strangelove is a validator "focused on designing, deploying, and maintaining open-source infrastructure across multiple blockchain ecosystems."

Strangelove CEO Jack Zampolin will slide into the new role of Ondo Finance's Vice President of Product, the companies said.