Global trading giant Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has begun a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency trading firm OKX to launch new tokenized stocks and crypto futures products.
ICE also made a strategic investment in OKX, reflecting a valuation of $25 billion, according to a press release. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.
The deal will see the New York Stock Exchange owner license OKX’s spot crypto prices for crypto futures products, and OKX offer ICE futures and tokenized equities, the companies said on Thursday.
Alongside the investment, ICE will have a board seat on OKX’s board of directors and establish a broad collaboration to leverage OKX’s blockchain infrastructure alongside ICE’s market technology, said the release.
The joint venture will also aim to advance clearing and risk management solutions, multi-chain custody and wallet architecture, the companies said.
“Our strategic relationship with OKX will expand global retail access to ICE’s pre-eminent regulated markets and accelerate our plans to offer on-chain infrastructure and tokenized assets to U.S. investors,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE chair and CEO.
The relationship brings together the operators of two high-performance matching engines and transparent order books, said Star Xu, founder and CEO of OKX, “to help build a more reliable market structure that bridges digital assets and equities, strengthens cross-market price formation, and meets institutional standards for risk and compliance.”
OKX global managing director, Haider Rafique – who played an instrumental part in securing the deal with ICE – said via email: “This relationship is truly unique. We couldn’t be more excited about the new opportunities and products we’ll be able to unlock by collaborating with such a respected and focused partner.”
