BroadChain has learned that Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), invested in OKX on March 5 at a valuation of $25 billion.
As part of the deal, OKX will provide ICE with real-time cryptocurrency price data. In return, OKX will gain the ability to offer its users trading access to tokenized stocks and derivatives listed on the NYSE, with related functionality expected to launch in the second half of 2026.
OKX founder Star Xu confirmed that ICE will join OKX's board of directors, and the two parties plan to collaborate on building digital asset market infrastructure.
ICE is a major global operator of financial market infrastructure, overseeing not only the NYSE but also multiple derivatives and clearing platforms worldwide.
This partnership underscores a shared belief between both companies in the long-term role digital asset technologies will play in the future of financial markets.
OKX also stated it intends to use this partnership to advance its expansion in the U.S. market and explore the development of next-generation financial infrastructure—all contingent on regulatory compliance and market structure requirements.
The collaboration may involve jointly exploring tokenized securities and the digitization of traditional assets. This includes researching how digital infrastructure can more efficiently connect global investors to securities while upholding the governance and regulatory frameworks of traditional exchanges. Such synergy between digital asset technologies and traditional financial institutions could become a critical direction for the future evolution of financial markets.
Star Xu outlined plans to grant OKX's over 120 million global users access to ICE's U.S. futures markets and the NYSE's tokenized stock market, exploring compliant pathways to integrate traditional financial markets with digital asset infrastructure.
He further noted that as blockchain and artificial intelligence drive structural transformation in finance, the two parties will work together on tokenized securities and asset digitization to develop more efficient and transparent models for next-generation financial infrastructure.
Separately, Haider Rafique, OKX’s Global Head of Corporate Affairs, stated that the company plans to relocate up to 2,000 of its 5,000 employees to the United States.