CoinDesk
Crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange are forming a joint venture to build infrastructure linking traditional and digital markets, the companies said Monday. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is leading the effort, which is structured to operate as a US-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant once it clears regulatory approval.
The goal is to give OKX's roughly 120 million global users direct access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities, with the venture also set to explore adjacent blockchain-enabled market structures. The announcement extends ICE's existing strategic investment in OKX, which valued the San Jose-based exchange at $25 billion when it was disclosed in March, and a prior March partnership to roll out tokenized stocks and crypto futures products.
Why it matters
The joint venture is the clearest sign yet that ICE intends to move the tokenization thesis from pilot to production infrastructure. The company already backs Bakkt, took a $2 billion stake in prediction market Polymarket at an implied valuation as high as $10 billion, and now wants a regulated US broker-dealer wrapper around NYSE-listed equities for crypto-native distribution. Cuomo, who served as New York's 56th governor, state attorney general, and HUD secretary, has worked with OKX since 2023 and gives the project a Washington- and Albany-tested political operator at a moment when the SEC and CFTC are actively drafting tokenization and perps frameworks.
Market impact
The structure lets OKX keep its offshore user base while routing US-resident flow through a fully regulated entity, a pattern the largest offshore exchanges have been quietly lobbying for. The RWA narrative gets a real institutional counterparty: tokenized NYSE equities trading on a registered broker-dealer is a different risk profile than on-chain synthetic equities on a DEX, and the May data points to where demand is already building.
Frequently asked questions
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What is the OKX and ICE joint venture supposed to do?
The venture is structured to operate as a US-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant, giving OKX's roughly 120 million global users access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities once it clears regulatory approval.
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Why is Andrew Cuomo leading the OKX and ICE venture?
Cuomo, who served as New York's 56th governor, state attorney general, and HUD secretary, has worked with OKX since 2023. ICE is putting a politically connected operator in front of a project that will need SEC and CFTC sign-off.
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How does this relate to ICE's earlier investment in OKX?
ICE disclosed a strategic investment in OKX in March at a $25 billion valuation, alongside a partnership to roll out tokenized stocks and crypto futures. The joint venture is the next, more regulated phase of that relationship.
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What other digital-asset bets has ICE made?
ICE is a long-time backer of Bakkt and disclosed a $2 billion investment in crypto prediction market Polymarket at an implied valuation as high as $10 billion. The OKX venture adds tokenized equities to that portfolio.
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Why does the RWA volume data matter for this deal?
RWA perpetual futures volumes rose 10.4% in May to a new all-time high even as combined exchange volumes fell 3.45% to $4.41 trillion. The split shows tokenized real-world-asset demand is decoupling from the broader derivatives tape, which is the audience the new broker-dealer is being built for.
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