Ripple backs OKX as its own investors turn into customers

Ripple has joined a funding round for crypto exchange OKX at a $25 billion valuation. 

Meanwhile, Brevan Howard, one of the Wall Street names that bankrolled Ripple last year, is deepening its relationship with the company as a client.

How much did Ripple invest in OKX?

OKX raised new capital at a $25 billion valuation from a mix of a stablecoin issuer, a British bank, and a London quant shop. Circle, Ripple, and Standard Chartered’s investment arm SC Ventures all took part, along with Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), a firm making its first appearance on the exchange’s cap table. OKX would not disclose the size of the raise.

Back in March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, put roughly $200 million into OKX at that same $25 billion figure. Seven months later, the price tag is identical. Haider Rafique, OKX’s global managing partner, said the funding is about “strengthening OKX’s long-term market infrastructure.”

ICE is also OKX’s partner in a bigger project. On October 5, their joint venture, OKXICE LLC, said it is seeking approval to sell tokenized shares in 63 US public companies, including Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola. 

The plan depends on a new SEC rule called the innovation exemption, introduced in September after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate. It lets approved platforms trade tokenized U.S. stocks on public blockchains for up to five years without registering as full stock exchanges. 

However, there is a requirement that the tokens must carry the same rights as real shares, including dividends and voting. 

Is Ripple taking on an investor as a customer? 

Notably, Brevan Howard, which is now coming on board with Ripple as a customer, was one of the backers of Ripple’s $500 million raise in November 2025. That round valued Ripple at $40 billion and was led by funds tied to Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities. Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital, and Marshall Wace also participated. 

Ripple has the products to sell to its investors in part because it spent heavily to build them. Ripple Prime, a prime brokerage service that came from Ripple’s $1.25 billion purchase of Hidden Road, which closed in October 2025. It offers a range of services like clearing, financing, and trading across currencies, derivatives, bonds, and digital assets, all in one place. 

In May 2026, Ripple Prime got a $200 million debt facility from Neuberger Specialty Finance to expand its margin lending, and it has reportedly tripled its revenue year over year since launching in the U.S.

Ripple’s President Monica Long said last year that the company had doubled its customers quarter on quarter in stablecoin payments, and its RLUSD stablecoin had just passed $1 billion in market value.

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