The crypto and tokenized finance industry is mourning the unexpected death of Nathan Allman, founder and CEO of Ondo Finance. The company announced the news on May 25, 2026, and appointed President Ian De Bode as CEO with immediate effect.

It is with profound sadness that we announce the unexpected passing of Nathan Allman, Ondo's founder. Our hearts are with his family and loved ones.

Nate’s brilliance, humility, and drive shaped every part of what Ondo is today. His belief in the power of technology to create a…

— Ondo Finance (@OndoFinance) May 25, 2026

Allman helped build Ondo Finance into a leading name in the tokenized real-world asset sector, focused on bringing traditional financial products such as US Treasuries onto blockchain infrastructure. Before launching the company, he worked on Goldman Sachs’ Digital Assets team. The company did not publicly disclose additional details regarding the circumstances of his death.

How Nathan Allman built Ondo Finance into a major real-world asset platform

Allman oversaw the transformation of Ondo Finance from an early DeFi yield platform into a major player in tokenized real-world assets, with a growing focus on U.S. Treasuries and institutional financial products.

The company’s growth accelerated after a $20 million Series A round in 2022 supported by investors such as Founders Fund, Pantera Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Tiger Global Management. Ondo’s early offerings attracted more than $200 million in liquidity deposits and secured partnerships with over ten DAOs.

By 2025–2026, the company had repositioned itself around tokenized treasuries and global financial access.

OUSG became one of the platform’s flagship products, surpassing $827 million in total value in late 2025, according to RWA.xyz. Ondo also pursued integrations with major financial firms including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Franklin Templeton, and WisdomTree.

As founder and CEO, Allman consistently pushed the company toward bridging traditional finance with public blockchain infrastructure for both institutional and crypto-native users.

A leadership bench built for continuity

In announcing Allman’s death, Ondo Finance stressed that the company remains supported by an experienced leadership team assembled under his direction. The statement conveyed strong confidence in De Bode as successor CEO and framed the leadership transition as a continuation of Allman’s long-term vision for the organization.

“Nate was not only an incredible founder and visionary, but also a very close personal friend. He will be missed dearly,” De Bode said in a statement. “The mission of Ondo, Nate’s mission, has not changed. If Nate were here, he would want to continue executing with excellence. We will make him proud.”

Prior to joining Ondo Finance in March 2024 as Chief Strategy Officer, De Bode led digital asset work at McKinsey & Company. In that role, he worked closely with traditional financial institutions to help them develop and launch digital-asset strategies and products.