NYSE and OKX Unite to Tokenize Equities, Connecting 120M Crypto Users

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) — the publicly traded parent of the New York Stock Exchange — and crypto exchange OKX announced a 50-50 joint venture on June 22, 2026 to build regulated infrastructure bridging traditional and digital asset markets. The JV, co-chaired by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and ICE Senior VP Trabue Bland, will operate as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant (FCM), giving OKX's 120 million global users access to NYSE tokenized equities and ICE futures contracts — pending SEC and CFTC regulatory approvals.

The deal builds on an earlier strategic investment: in March 2026, ICE took a minority stake in OKX at a ~$25 billion valuation (reported at approximately $200 million), with an ICE board seat and a data-sharing arrangement that allowed OKX to launch perpetual futures based on ICE's Brent and WTI crude oil benchmarks in May 2026. The tokenized equity market has more than tripled since mid-2025 to reach $6.4 billion globally; Nasdaq announced a competing Kraken partnership in the same period, signaling that major exchanges are moving aggressively to claim leadership in on-chain equity infrastructure.

OKX's regulatory rehabilitation underpins the deal's credibility: the exchange settled a $500 million DOJ plea in early 2025 for operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business, then relaunched U.S. operations in April 2025. ICE's appointment of Andrew Cuomo — who has advised OKX since 2023 and guided the company through its DOJ process — as JV co-chair signals a deliberate effort to build regulatory trust ahead of the broker-dealer application process. Product launch is targeted for H2 2026.