Ondo was shopped after Allman's death, but who pushed the sale is still unknown

Three people with knowledge of the matter say Ondo Finance was shopped to prospective buyers following the death of founder Nathan Allman, but the company maintains the reports are false.

Allman died on May 25 at age 32 without a will. His estate was later awarded to his parents, Kathleen Allman and Lawrence Allman. The people familiar with the matter say the outreach happened after his death, but they note that who initiated the sale attempts remains unclear.

Ondo offers tokenized U.S. Treasuries and stocks, managing more than $3.8 billion across its products. The company raised $24 million in equity funding, with a separate $10 million token sale bringing its publicly reported fundraising to $34 million. An Ondo spokesman denied the company was looking for buyers, stating, "Nobody at the company has shopped it for sale, been in sales talks, or engaged or asked anyone to do so on its behalf. There are no facts to support this."

The sale process likely stalled when Allman's estate sued acting CEO Ian De Bode in early August, alleging an unlawful power grab. De Bode calls those claims "meritless," noting that current leadership retains support from key stakeholders, lead investors and the Ondo Foundation. Ondo was shopped during a period when announced crypto mergers and acquisitions totaled $12.9 billion in the second quarter, according to Architect Partners. The legal dispute will continue ahead of the Federal Reserve's next rate decision on October 28.