Summary
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the NYSE, is partnering with the crypto exchange OKX.
- This collaboration aims to enhance the infrastructure for tokenization and digital asset offerings.
- Earlier this year, ICE made an investment in OKX, valuing the company at $25 billion.
The Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), owner of the NYSE, has announced a joint venture with OKX, a centralized cryptocurrency exchange, to develop products related to tokenization and digital assets.
While regulatory approval is required for the venture to proceed, it is expected to provide OKX's global users access to tokenized stocks listed on the NYSE and futures contracts available through ICE.
Trabue Bland, ICE's senior vice president for futures exchanges, remarked, "The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead." He expressed the company's intention to expand its services to the 120 million retail traders currently using OKX.
The venture will be co-chaired by ICE and former New York Attorney General and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has collaborated with OKX since 2023.
Cuomo stated, "The next chapter of financial markets will be defined by how well innovation and government regulation can move forward together." He expressed enthusiasm about the potential societal benefits of blockchain technology, particularly its ability to democratize finance and provide basic financial services to underserved communities.
Details regarding the specific tokenization or blockchain initiatives that the joint venture will explore have not been revealed. Representatives from both companies did not respond promptly to Decrypt’s inquiry; however, an OKX spokesperson mentioned to Fortune that the focus will be on tokenizing equities listed on the NYSE.
Earlier this year, the two entities launched crypto-native perpetual futures for oil targeting non-U.S. residents.
This announcement follows ICE’s investment in OKX earlier in the year, where the NYSE parent acquired a minority stake in the international crypto exchange at a valuation of $25 billion.