What Could Help Ondo Overcome Heavy Token Unlock Pressure?

Ondo (ONDO) is creating a striking paradox. The token price has fallen more than 80% from its all-time high (ATH), yet total value locked (TVL) has reached a new record.

This divergence raises questions about the project’s true potential. At the same time, industry leaders are projecting a positive outlook for the tokenization sector in 2026.

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Ondo Prices Drop Sharply After Unlocking

Ondo is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol focused on the tokenization of real-world assets (RWAs). The protocol allows users to access traditional financial products. These include US Treasury bonds, credit funds, and tokenized equities on the blockchain.

BeInCrypto Price data shows that ONDO fell from a peak above $2.1 to around $0.35. This represents a decline of more than 80%. In early 2026, ONDO continued to set lower lows and showed no clear signs of recovery.

The negative price action may stem from token unlock pressure. Ondo recently completed an unlock of 1.94 billion tokens on January 18. This amount accounted for 57.23% of the issued supply.

The sudden increase in circulating supply added selling pressure and heightened investor concerns. Since the unlock, ONDO has dropped another 10%.

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Ondo’s January Paradox: Is The Project Undervalued?

However, Token Terminal data shows strong momentum in the tokenized equity sector. The total market value of tokenized stocks has reached a new ATH of $441.2 million. Ondo Finance leads the sector with a 54.4% market share.

Charts indicate that tokenized equity market capitalization has surged since September last year. This expansion occurred even as the broader crypto market entered a downturn over the same period.

The data suggests that while many retail investors have withdrawn capital, enterprises continue to allocate funds to tokenized equities.

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In addition, Ondo’s TVL increased sharply in January. It reached an ATH above $2.5 billion, according to DefiLlama data.

TVL represents the total value of assets that users lock in a protocol. It reflects user participation and confidence. The contrast between falling market prices and rising capital inflows has led analysts to suspect that Ondo is undervalued. Sentiment and emotion often drive market prices, causing retail investors to overlook fundamentals.

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This paradox becomes more pronounced as tokenization emerged as a central theme at Davos 2026. Global leaders expressed optimism about asset tokenization. They described it as a bridge between traditional finance and DeFi.

Exchange trading data also shows that despite declining prices, many whale investors are treating the pullback as an opportunity.

CryptoQuant’s spot average order size data highlights the dominance of large whale orders in recent months, shown in green on the chart.

This pattern suggests that ONDO may face a strong recovery once selling pressure from unlock concerns fades and market fear subsides.