Key Takeaways
- • OKX secured funding at a $25 billion valuation (unchanged since March 2026) from investors including Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures, and Qube Research & Technologies, with ICE contributing approximately $200 million as part of a strategic partnership.
- • OKX and Intercontinental Exchange are pursuing SEC regulatory approval under an innovation exemption to offer tokenized stocks of 63 U.S. companies, including Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola, enabling trading on public blockchains without full exchange registration.
- • The joint venture targets OKX's 120 million users with 24/7 trading and instant settlement capabilities for tokenized equities and ICE futures products, pending issuer consent and regulatory clearance.
Summary
Crypto exchange OKX has secured new funding at a $25 billion valuation, maintaining its March 2026 valuation level. The funding round included notable investors Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures, and Qube Research & Technologies. As part of the strategic push into blockchain-based financial infrastructure, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange, invested approximately $200 million in the exchange as a minority stakeholder. The capital infusion aims to strengthen OKX's market infrastructure and support its expansion into tokenized securities.
OKX and ICE are jointly pursuing regulatory approval from the SEC to launch tokenized stocks under the agency's innovation exemption framework. This regulatory pathway allows the trading of tokenized equities on public blockchains without requiring full exchange registration. The joint venture seeks to offer tokenized versions of 63 U.S. companies, including major corporations such as Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola. The tokenization initiative represents actual securities rather than derivatives, with digital tokens backed by underlying equity holdings.
The partnership targets OKX's global user base of approximately 120 million traders with access to both NYSE-listed tokenized stocks and ICE futures products. The structure enables 24/7 trading with instant settlement capabilities, a significant departure from traditional equity market hours and settlement timelines. The rollout remains contingent on SEC approval of the innovation exemption request and consent from individual stock issuers participating in the tokenized offering.
OKX and ICE are jointly pursuing regulatory approval from the SEC to launch tokenized stocks under the agency's innovation exemption framework. This regulatory pathway allows the trading of tokenized equities on public blockchains without requiring full exchange registration. The joint venture seeks to offer tokenized versions of 63 U.S. companies, including major corporations such as Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola. The tokenization initiative represents actual securities rather than derivatives, with digital tokens backed by underlying equity holdings.
The partnership targets OKX's global user base of approximately 120 million traders with access to both NYSE-listed tokenized stocks and ICE futures products. The structure enables 24/7 trading with instant settlement capabilities, a significant departure from traditional equity market hours and settlement timelines. The rollout remains contingent on SEC approval of the innovation exemption request and consent from individual stock issuers participating in the tokenized offering.
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