Intercontinental Exchange and OKX Form Joint Venture to Bridge Traditional Finance and Digital Asset Markets
- Core Insight: ICE and OKX have established an equal joint venture aimed at building a regulated infrastructure for tokenized and digitally native financial products. This initiative combines ICE's traditional market resources with OKX's blockchain technology and retail user base, exploring new opportunities for compliant and innovative financial markets.
- Key Elements:
- The joint venture will be equally owned (50/50) by ICE and OKX. Subject to regulatory approval, it plans to operate as a US-registered broker-dealer and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM).
- The platform will enable OKX users to access ICE's futures markets and tokenized equities listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), bridging the traditional and crypto worlds.
- The joint venture will be co-chaired by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and an ICE executive, highlighting a strong focus on compliance and regulatory coordination.
- This marks the first major action following ICE's strategic investment in OKX in March, aiming to extend ICE's institutional-grade market credibility to OKX's 120 million retail users.
- The collaboration focuses on blockchain-enabled market infrastructure, with the goal of promoting the democratization of finance and serving currently underserved user segments.
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) and OKX today announced the formation of a joint venture to build a new generation of infrastructure for tokenized and digital-native financial products.
Intercontinental Exchange is one of the world's leading providers of financial market technology and data services, with its businesses driving the operation of global capital markets. OKX is one of the world's largest blockchain technology companies, serving over 120 million users globally.
Subject to obtaining relevant regulatory approvals, the joint venture is expected to operate as a U.S. registered broker-dealer and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), enabling OKX users in the U.S. and abroad to access ICE's futures markets and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tokenized equities market. This equally owned joint venture, with each party holding a 50% stake, will also actively explore blockchain-enabled, compliant adjacent market opportunities.
The joint venture will be co-chaired by ICE and former New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. Cuomo has served as the 56th Governor of New York State, New York State Attorney General, and U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and has been working with OKX since 2023.
"The next chapter for financial markets will depend on how well innovation and government regulation can work together," Cuomo said. "This partnership brings together OKX's world-class blockchain technology with ICE's trusted market infrastructure to help build a more modern, transparent, and resilient future financial system. I am particularly looking forward to the social impact that blockchain technology can bring – democratizing finance and making basic financial services accessible to those who have been underserved."
"The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step toward building the infrastructure that will underpin the operation of global markets for decades to come," said Trabue Bland, Senior Vice President of ICE Futures Exchange Business. "ICE's global benchmark products and regulated market technology have earned the trust of institutions and traders worldwide. Now, through our partnership with OKX, we are working to extend that reach to OKX's 120 million retail trading users."
The establishment of this joint venture is the first major move following ICE's strategic investment in OKX in March of this year.
About Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)
Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds, and operates digital networks connecting people to opportunity. It provides financial technology and data services across major asset classes, helping customers access critical workflow tools that enhance market transparency and operational efficiency. ICE's futures, equities, and options exchanges (including the New York Stock Exchange), along with its clearing houses, serve investment, financing, and risk management needs.
ICE operates the world's leading markets for trading and clearing energy and environmental products. Its fixed income, data services, and execution business provides information, analytical tools, and platforms to help clients optimize processes and seize opportunities. In the ICE mortgage technology segment, ICE is reshaping the entire lifecycle of U.S. housing finance – from initial consumer engagement through loan production, delivery, registration, and the long-term servicing relationship. ICE is committed to transforming, streamlining, and automating industries, connecting clients to opportunity.
About OKX
OKX is a financial technology company, widely known for its global cryptocurrency trading platform and on-chain wallet and marketplace. The company continuously develops technology and applications to modernize money and markets. As one of the world's fastest and most reliable cryptocurrency and payment applications, OKX has processed trillions of dollars in transactions for over 120 million users globally.
OKX has its Americas headquarters in San Jose, California, its Middle East headquarters in Dubai, and regional offices in São Paulo, New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, the Republic of Türkiye, Australia, and Europe. Over the past several years, OKX has been built into one of the most comprehensive global compliance and licensed crypto companies, holding relevant licenses in the U.S., the UAE, the European Economic Area (EEA), Singapore, Australia, and other markets.
OKX remains committed to transparency and security, publishing monthly Proof of Reserves reports.
