Ondo Perps has updated its weekly USDC rewards program, introducing a three-pool structure starting October 26. The maker pool will provide rewards for resting liquidity within 25 basis points of the mid price.
The taker pool will continue to reward USDC based on trading volume and open interest. And, a rotating trading activity pool will offer bonuses, beginning with spot trading of the OpenAI Private Market Note, referred to as OPAIPon. This change was announced through the official Ondo Perps channel on X. The upgrade links incentives to liquidity quality and the adoption of new assets.
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Behavior-Based Reward Allocation
The restructuring shows a more developed approach to exchange incentives. Instead of broadly rewarding activity, Ondo is now allocating rewards based on specific behaviors, which may affect market microstructure, tokenized asset distribution, and the use of USDC as an incentive currency. The new weekly USDC rewards program separates incentives into three pools.
The maker pool pays for limit orders resting within 25 bps of mid, aiming to tighten spreads and improve depth. The taker pool rewards volume and open interest from market orders. The rotating pool offers time-limited bonuses for selected markets, with the inaugural bonus targeting the OPAIPon/USDC pair on the Ondo Perps spot order book.
Source: Ondo Finance
This separation addresses a common exchange challenge. Maker and taker activity often compete in a single pool, diluting support for the side most needed. By isolating them, Ondo can improve depth without overpaying for volume, and direct attention to strategic listings.
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OPAIPon Launch Ties Rewards to Private Market Tokenization
The first bonus centers on OPAIPon, a fully funded spot asset giving eligible non-U.S. investors 24/7 exposure to OpenAI pre-IPO. The note trades against USDC as the OPAIPon/USDC pair on the Ondo Perps spot market, and is the inaugural focus of the new USDC rewards rotating pool. This selection connects the upgrade to Ondo Finance’s private markets initiative, which aims to bring compliant on-chain exposure to private companies.
Source: PCMag Australia
By pairing OPAIPon with a dedicated USDC rewards pool, Ondo Perps is testing whether USDC incentives can accelerate adoption of tokenized private market instruments, similar to liquidity mining but using a regulated stablecoin rather than a governance token.
Tokenized real-world assets have grown as platforms compete to offer compliant private equity exposure, and the USDC rewards model helps Ondo differentiate by focusing on single-name exposure rather than broad indexes, using its own venues.
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USDC Rewards Align Ecosystem
For traders, the model creates clearer earning paths. Makers get a dedicated quoting pool near mid, takers keep their volume and open interest rewards, and opportunists can go hunting for the moving OPAIPon bonus.
For institutions, USDC rewards offer dollar-based, transparent incentives that may resonate better with compliance-sensitive traders than the wild swings of governance token prices. For the industry, the upgrade demonstrates that exchanges are evolving from volume rebates into segmented incentives that support order book quality, new product launches, and the use of stablecoins, while also competing with perpetuals, spot markets, and tokenization platforms.
Obstacles remain, as the program’s success hinges on USDC rewards pool size, transparency of allocation, and whether OPAIPon’s activity sustains past the bonus period. Regulatory uncertainty around tokenized notes and stablecoin incentives will shape adoption, as the barrier is high for U.S. participants.
Starting October 26, this road test will be watched closely to see if spreads tighten, OPAIPon’s liquidity balloon, and institutional investor flows follow, creating a roadmap for other venues to better align trader incentives with ecosystem health through structured USDC rewards.
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