A major announcement came on December 8—the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially terminated its two-year investigation into Ondo Finance. The official document clearly states: no violations were found, no charges will be filed, and no penalties will be imposed.

The story dates back to October 2023, when the SEC focused its investigation on Ondo's tokenized U.S. Treasury product. The core issue was whether the ONDO token should be classified as a security. This marathon compliance review placed considerable operational pressure on the project team.

Now, the dust has settled, and the investigation team’s conclusion is straightforward—after a comprehensive review, no compliance issues warranting action were found. The Ondo team can finally breathe a sigh of relief.

What’s even more noteworthy is the systemic shift in regulatory attitudes. This is no longer an isolated case. Since the appointment of the new SEC chairman, Paul Atkins (who is regarded as crypto-friendly within the industry), a series of outstanding cases have seen breakthroughs: lawsuits against a major exchange, Ripple’s long-standing dispute, Kraken’s regulatory deadlock, and now Ondo—all have seen settlements or case dismissals.

The overall compliance climate in the crypto industry is visibly improving.

What does this mean for regular participants? Put simply:

**First, tokenized U.S. Treasuries (the so-called RWA track) have gained official recognition and endorsement.** Products like Ondo’s and BlackRock’s BUIDL, as well as Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund, are making the compliance path for on-chain traditional asset projects much clearer.

**Second, the classification of the ONDO token itself is no longer ambiguous.** Since the SEC completed its investigation without objections, this means its utility token design stands up under the current regulatory framework.

**Third, increased regulatory certainty will directly affect institutional capital allocation decisions.** When policy is no longer a sword of Damocles hanging overhead, traditional capital will be far less hesitant to enter the space.

Ultimately, this wave of regulatory easing is a long-awaited piece of good news for the crypto industry. How long it will last depends on future policy implementation details. But for now, teams working on compliant RWA projects can have a few less nightmares.