ICE Takes Stake in OKX With $25B Valuation as NYSE Tokenized Securities Initiative Advances

ICE Takes Stake in OKX With $25B Valuation as NYSE Tokenized Securities Initiative Advances

The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange, secures a board position at OKX while preparing to launch tokenized NYSE-listed stocks and derivatives for crypto exchange customers by 2026.

The parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), has made a strategic investment in the cryptocurrency exchange OKX, valuing the platform at $25 billion, and will assume a position on the company's board of directors, a Thursday announcement revealed.

As part of its expansion into blockchain infrastructure and tokenized equities, ICE has committed an unspecified sum to OKX, according to details provided in the announcement.

Under the partnership agreement, OKX will supply ICE with real-time pricing data for cryptocurrency assets available on its exchange. Additionally, OKX plans to grant its user base, which encompasses approximately 120 million accounts, access to ICE's United States futures markets and tokenized equity products from the NYSE. The platform integration is scheduled for deployment during the latter half of 2026.

Speaking on the collaboration, Haider Rafique, global managing partner at OKX, emphasized that both organizations demonstrated strong strategic alignment regarding their outlook on tokenization and the traditional finance (TradFi) sector.

There was great chemistry in how we looked at the world and the future of tokenized securities, how derivatives should make it to the global stage, how TradFi [and] digital assets should merge together.

Haider Rafique, global managing partner at OKX

The financial commitment to OKX represents ICE's most recent strategic initiative as it continues expanding its presence within the cryptocurrency sector.

Earlier this year in January, ICE revealed that it was in the process of building its proprietary blockchain-powered trading platform designed specifically for tokenized securities.

Prior to that, in November 2025, the company disclosed plans for a $2 billion investment in Polymarket, the prediction market platform, through a transaction that assigned the emerging company a valuation of $9 billion.

At the time of publication, OKX had not provided a response to Cointelegraph's inquiry for additional commentary.