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

Ondo Finance is adding a proxy-voting option to its tokenized equities, aiming to bring onchain stock products closer to traditional market norms by giving investors a channel to participate in corporate governance. Developed in partnership with Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR), the feature covers more than 250 tokenized securities on Ondo's platform. Through Broadridge's ProxyVote system, token holders can review corporate filings and submit voting instructions. Access is handled via crypto wallets, after which investors can use governance tools typically available through brokerage accounts. Tokenized equities have become one of crypto's fastest-growing segments, putting stocks and ETFs on blockchain rails. The category now accounts for more than $1.1 billion in total value locked, triple the level a year ago, according to RWA.xyz. Ondo is the sector's largest issuer, reporting more than $700 million in tokenized stocks and ETFs on its Global Markets platform, which is offered to non-U.S. investors. Proxy voting is a notable addition because many tokenized equity products have historically offered limited governance participation. Ondo said its tokens remain separate from the underlying shares and do not confer direct shareholder rights. Instead, the system allows investors to express preferences that Ondo can apply when casting votes for the shares it holds. "It really hits at the heart of Ondo's vision to make traditional financial assets more accessible," Matthieu de Vergnes, Ondo's global head of institutional, told CoinDesk. "You get all the benefits of being onchain – freely transferable, compatible with DeFi – and on top of that, you get the governance that you have from the the underlying." Broadridge, a major processor of proxy votes in traditional markets, said it is extending its infrastructure to blockchain-based systems with the goal of supporting digital and conventional assets within the same workflows. Danielle Gurrieri, senior vice president and head of product management at Broadridge, said providing investors with comparable auditability, transparency, and compliance will help scale tokenized markets and build trust among end investors.