NYSE parent ICE, OKX partners to expand tokenized equities and digital asset markets

• ICE and OKX are set to launch a joint venture to develop infrastructure for tokenized and blockchain-native financial products.
• The venture will operate as a regulated US broker-dealer and FCM, pending regulatory approvals.
• The company will also provide access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities while exploring compliant blockchain markets.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) parent company, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), and crypto exchange OKX have formed a joint venture to develop infrastructure for tokenized and blockchain-native financial products, according to a statement on Monday.

ICE, OKX target regulated tokenized finance infrastructure

The venture will seek to operate as a US-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant (FCM), subject to regulatory approvals. The entity is expected to enable OKX customers in the United States and overseas to access ICE futures and upcoming NYSE tokenized equities markets, while exploring additional regulated blockchain-based financial products.

The joint venture will be equally owned by both companies and co-chaired by ICE and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has advised OKX since 2023.

"This partnership brings together OKX's world-class blockchain technology and ICE's trusted market infrastructure to help build a more modern, transparent, and resilient financial system for the future," Cuomo added.

ICE stated that the partnership aims to combine its regulated market infrastructure with OKX's blockchain technology and global user base of more than 120 million customers.

"ICE's global benchmarks and regulated market technology have earned the trust of institutions and traders everywhere and now, through our partnership with OKX, we are working towards extending that reach to OKX's 120 million retail traders," said Trabue Bland, Senior Vice President, Futures Exchanges at ICE.

The companies also plan to evaluate additional opportunities to develop regulatory-compliant blockchain-enabled markets beyond tokenized equities.

"The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead," Bland added.

The announcement builds on a broader relationship between the two firms. In March, ICE announced a strategic investment in OKX that valued the crypto exchange at $25 billion.

The companies have also been expanding their product collaboration. In late May, the firms revealed plans to introduce perpetual futures contracts tied to ICE's Brent Crude and WTI Crude benchmarks in jurisdictions where OKX is licensed to offer perpetual products.

The contracts are expected to be available in markets where OKX is authorized to offer perpetual futures, providing both retail and institutional investors with regulated access to global energy benchmarks.