OKX and NYSE partner to bridge tradfi and crypto markets in joint venture led by Andrew Cuomo

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• Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is leading a new joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange to build infrastructure linking traditional and digital markets.
• Subject to regulatory approval, the venture aims to operate as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant, giving OKX’s 120 million users access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities.
• The initiative follows ICE’s strategic investment in OKX and extends its broader push into digital assets, which includes backing Bakkt and a multibillion-dollar investment in prediction market Polymarket.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is leading an OKX and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) joint venture to build infrastructure to bridge traditional and digital financial markets.

“The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead,” said Trabue Bland, senior vice president at ICE in a statement Monday morning.

Subject to regulatory approvals, the OKX and ICE project is expected to operate as a registered broker-dealer and a futures commission merchant, the statement noted.

The goal of the joint venture is to enable OKX’s 120 million users in the U.S. and overseas to access ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities markets. It will also explore adjacent opportunities for the regulatory-compliant blockchain-enabled market, it added.

Cuomo, who served as New York’s 56th governor, New York State Attorney General, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, began working with OKX in 2023.

“The next chapter of financial markets will be defined by how well innovation and government regulation can move forward together,” said Cuomo. “This partnership brings together OKX’s world-class blockchain technology and ICE’s trusted market infrastructure to help build a more modern, transparent, and resilient financial system for the future.”

In March, ICE and OKX announced a partnership to introduce tokenized stocks and crypto futures products. ICE also announced a strategic investment in the San Jose, California-based crypto exchange at a $25 billion valuation.

ICE is also 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.