Intercontinental Exchange, OKX expand access to tokenized equities via joint venture co-chaired by former Gov. Cuomo

New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX have announced a 50-50 joint venture to develop "next-generation infrastructure" for tokenized and digitally native financial products, according to an announcement on Monday.

The joint venture, subject to regulatory approvals, will be co-chaired by ICE and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. The company will operate as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and Futures Commission Merchant (FCM), "for the purpose of enabling OKX’s customers in the U.S."

In particular, the joint venture will enable OKX customers in the U.S. and internationally to access ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities markets. It will also explore additional regulatory-compliant blockchain-enabled opportunities, according to the announcement.

"The next chapter of financial markets will be defined by how well innovation and government regulation can move forward together," said Cuomo. "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."

OKX is one of the largest global crypto exchanges, with a claimed 120 million users. Like other major crypto-native trading platforms, the firm has lately been scaling up into traditional asset trading and prediction markets.

In March, ICE invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation. Although terms of the investment were undisclosed, ICE gained an OKX board seat, and the firms announced plans to explore trading tokenized NYSE-listed stocks and derivatives on OKX.

"The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead," said Trabue Bland, ICE senior vice president of futures exchanges. "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."

Cuomo, who served as New York's 56th governor, New York State Attorney General, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has advised OKX since 2023.