A legal dispute has emerged over the leadership of tokenised asset platform Ondo Finance following the death of its founder, Nathan Allman, with court filings revealing a disagreement over who has the legal authority to run the company.
The case, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, centres on events that unfolded after Allman died unexpectedly in May. At the time of his death, he served as Ondo Finance’s chief executive officer, sole director and controlling shareholder. However, control of his voting shares became part of his estate and could not immediately be exercised until probate proceedings were completed.
According to the lawsuit, Nathan Allman’s mother, Kathleen Allman, who now represents his estate, alleges that former company president and current CEO Ian De Bode took control of the company without proper authority during the period before the estate gained legal control of Allman’s voting shares. The estate is asking the court to determine who lawfully controls Ondo Finance and to prevent major corporate decisions until the dispute is resolved.
The complaint alleges that De Bode relied on the company’s bylaws to assume the role of chief executive and later appointed himself as the company’s sole director through a voting agreement. The estate argues those actions were not valid because the bylaws required board approval before a new chief executive could be appointed. It also claims De Bode approved several corporate actions, including hiring advisers, approving performance grants and attempting to appoint another director without proper authority. These are allegations made in the court filings and have not been decided by the court.
De Bode has rejected the claims. In a statement to CoinDesk, he described the lawsuit as “regretful” and said it was not in the best interests of the company, its shareholders or the wider Ondo ecosystem. He also said the allegations are without merit and expressed confidence that the company’s position would be upheld in court. De Bode added that Ondo Finance continues to have the support of its board, lead investors and the Ondo Foundation, and that the leadership team remains committed to carrying forward Nathan Allman’s vision.
Ondo Finance announced Allman’s unexpected death in May and immediately named De Bode, who had served as the company’s president, as chief executive. The company did not disclose the cause of Allman’s death. Before his death, Allman had built Ondo Finance into one of the largest tokenised real-world asset platforms, with billions of dollars in tokenised assets and products linked to U.S. Treasuries and other traditional financial instruments.
The outcome of the case could shape the future leadership of one of the crypto industry’s largest tokenisation companies. For now, the dispute remains before the Delaware Court of Chancery, which will decide who has the legal authority to control Ondo Finance while the estate proceedings continue.