Global trading giant Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) began a strategic partnership with cryptocurrency trading firm OKX to introduce tokenized stocks and crypto futures products.
ICE, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, also made a strategic investment valuing the San Jose, California-based company at $25 billion, according to a press release. The terms of the investment were not disclosed.
The deal is not ICE’s first foray into crypto trading platforms. It is a long-time backer of digital asset firm Bakkt (BKKT) and, more recently, invested $2 billion in crypto-powered prediction market Polymarket, valuing the platform at up to $10 billion.
“Our strategic relationship with OKX will expand global retail access to ICE’s pre-eminent regulated markets and accelerate our plans to offer on-chain infrastructure and tokenized assets to U.S. investors,” said Jeffrey C. Sprecher, ICE chair and CEO.
OKX’s native token, OKB, jumped as much as 58% in the hour after the news was released. Bakkt’s NYSE-traded stock rose 0.74% as of 9:40 a.m. in New York.
The deal will see ICE license OKX’s spot crypto prices for crypto futures products, and OKX offer ICE futures and tokenized equities, the companies said on Thursday. ICE will also secure a board seat on OKX’s board of directors.
The venture will aim to advance clearing and risk-management products, multichain custody and wallet architecture, the companies said.
The relationship brings together the operators of two high-performance matching engines and transparent order books, said Star Xu, founder and CEO of OKX, “to help build a more reliable market structure that bridges digital assets and equities, strengthens cross-market price formation, and meets institutional standards for risk and compliance.”
UPDATE (March 5, 14:11 UTC): Rewrites headline.
UPDATE (March 5, 14:47 UTC): Adds ICE existing crypto forays in third paragraph, OKB token surge, Bakkt shares in fifth.