OKX raises funding at $25 billion valuation from Circle, Ripple and Standard Chartered

Crypto exchange OKX has raised new funding at a flat $25 billion valuation, extending its March 2026 round that saw a $200 million investment from NYSE parent ICE. The new backer consortium includes Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered's SC Ventures, and quantitative hedge fund Qube Research & Technologies. The capital injection arrives as OKX and ICE's joint venture, OKXICE, seeks regulatory approval under a new SEC innovation exemption to offer 24/7 trading of tokenized shares in 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia and Apple.

Proposed tokenized stock offering

• ▪OKXICE LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) announced in June 2026, is seeking regulatory approval to offer tokenized shares of 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola
• ▪The proposed OKXICE tokenized stock offering is designed to operate under a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission innovation exemption introduced in September 2026, which allows qualifying platforms to trade tokenized equities on public blockchains for up to five years
• ▪Under the SEC's innovation exemption introduced in September, stock tokenization is limited to tokens carrying ordinary shareholder rights, and stock issuers have 30 days to object, giving companies like Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola veto power over their listing on OKXICE

Traditional finance expansion

• ▪OKX has expanded its traditional crypto offerings by listing perpetual futures linked to major U.S. equities, including the S&P 500 and the Magnificent Seven stocks
• ▪OKX named Standard Chartered a third-party custodian for its institutional business in October 2024

Debatable claims

• ▪Public companies should be allowed to opt out of third-party tokenization
• ▪Traditional banks face unacceptable reputational risks by investing directly in crypto exchanges