The estate of Ondo Finance founder Nathan Allman has filed suit in Delaware against the tokenization firm's current chief executive, escalating a legal dispute over who rightfully controls the company.

A contested leadership transition has created two competing power centers within Ondo Finance, and the estate is now asking a court to determine the lawful head of the company. Until a judge issues a ruling, the legal validity of Ondo's contracts, expenditures, and share issuances remains uncertain. The case underscores a recurring governance vulnerability in crypto startups, where founders often consolidate multiple control roles—CEO, director, and majority shareholder—leaving no clear succession mechanism if a key person becomes incapacitated.

Rivals vie for control of Ondo Finance

Kathleen Allman, mother of the late Nathan Allman, filed three complaints on August 6 in Delaware's Court of Chancery, the specialized business court that handles the majority of US corporate governance disputes because Delaware is the state of incorporation for more than half of Fortune 500 companies.

Nathan Allman died in late May at the age of 32. At the time of his death, he simultaneously held three positions: CEO, sole director, and controlling shareholder, according to the complaint. His passing effectively froze the company's governance. His voting shares transferred to his estate, leaving no one authorized to exercise them. With the sole board seat vacant, no director remained with the power to appoint a successor or convene a meeting.

This deadlock persisted until June 26, when a Hawaii probate court appointed Kathleen Allman as administrator of the estate, thereby vesting her with the estate's voting power.

The estate alleges that Ian De Bode, Ondo's former president, exploited the period before the probate process concluded to install himself in power. According to the filings, De Bode invoked the company bylaws to declare himself CEO, then relied on a shareholder agreement to appoint himself sole director, after which he began acting unilaterally.

Kathleen Allman's lawsuit contends that Ondo's charter permits a CEO vacancy to be filled only through a board decision. Since no board existed at the time, the complaint argues that De Bode's appointment was void, along with all actions that followed.

The filings further allege that De Bode used corporate resources to pressure Kathleen Allman into signing documents that would solidify his control. He and Ondo's outside counsel also allegedly refused her request to access the company's shareholder list.

Efforts to resolve the dispute before litigation

After obtaining her voting rights, Kathleen Allman did not immediately terminate De Bode. She joined the board, implemented an interim operating policy to maintain business continuity, and retained De Bode as president while requesting basic company records. De Bode and Ondo's counsel reportedly declined to acknowledge any of these actions.

De Bode has dismissed Allman's claims as "meritless" and described her decision to sue as "regretful." He stated that Ondo continues to have the support of "key stakeholders, including its lead investors and the Ondo Foundation."

The Ondo board issued a statement saying it remains focused on serving users "without interruption" while conducting a search for a permanent successor. The company also recently appointed former Blockchain.com executive Adam Schlisman as chief financial officer.

Ondo Finance, founded in 2021, is backed by Coinbase, Wintermute, Tiger Global, and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund. The firm leads the real-world asset tokenization market with approximately $3.5 billion in total value locked. Its product offerings include the OUSG tokenized Treasury fund and the yield-bearing USDY token. Real-world asset tokenization has grown into one of the largest subsectors of decentralized finance, with BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, and other traditional asset managers launching competing products, making governance stability at leading platforms a matter of broader market attention.

Following news of the dispute, the ONDO token declined approximately 6% over a 24-hour period to $0.35, trading roughly 84% below its December 2024 all-time high of $2.14. More than 10 million ONDO tokens were reportedly transferred onto exchanges as the news circulated, with some transfers linked to Ondo team wallets, bringing the two-day decline to approximately 9%.