"Traditional exchanges and crypto giants 'go back and forth'! Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE.US) invests in OKX, with a valuation reaching 25 billion US dollars."

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is acquiring a stake in the cryptocurrency exchange operator OKX, with the valuation of the latter reaching $25 billion. According to a statement, ICE, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, will get a seat on OKX's board of directors, but the terms of the deal were not disclosed. The background of this deal is that about a year ago, the operator of OKX, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, admitted to committing crimes and agreed to pay a fine of approximately $504 million. Prior to this, prosecutors accused them of handling over $1 trillion worth of US customer transactions without a license. Heider Rafique, Global Managing Partner of OKX, stated in an interview that this investment and ICE's decision to join the board is a positive signal that they are forging a different path. They hope to collaborate with other companies operating within regulatory frameworks. Executives have mentioned that ICE has agreed to use OKX's spot cryptocurrency prices to launch regulated futures products in the US. OKX will distribute these products and tokenized stocks to its approximately 120 million customers, most of whom are located outside the US. Unlike OKX, the New York Stock Exchange does not have consumer-facing applications. In the favorable environment created by the Trump administration, the digital asset industry continues to deepen its connections with Wall Street. Earlier this week, the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced that its banking division has been granted access to the Federal Reserve's core payment systems. Meanwhile, the passage of the GENIUS Act established a regulatory framework for stablecoins. Michael Brggrend, Vice President of ICE's Strategic Planning, stated in an interview, "Blockchain infrastructure will become a key component of trade clearing, settlement, and capital formation. Our plan is to ensure that we have either developed the capability to provide these solutions ourselves or identified leading companies building these frontier capabilities globally." Last year, ICE made a strategic investment of $2 billion in the blockchain-based prediction market Polymarket, which gained popularity during the 2024 US elections. The operator of the exchange also agreed to collaborate with Polymarket on future tokenization plans. Their investment in OKX shows that the longstanding gatekeepers of the US capital markets are committed to integrating crypto infrastructure into the underlying structures of the financial system. Brggrend added, "We are merging our DNA, making both institutions stronger." OKX, formerly known as OKEx, was founded by Star Xu in 2017. Prior to that, he founded a cryptocurrency exchange named OKCoin. The timing of the company's guilty plea coincided with the early weeks of Trump's second term in office, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission began to ease off on the stricter regulatory regime put in place during the Biden administration. Executives from both companies stated that they will focus on building technology, including blockchain networks, that will allow ICE's customers to access cryptocurrency-based futures products, and enable OKX's customers to trade tokenized securities on the NYSE platform. This year, the NYSE announced that it is building a platform for 24-hour trading of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds. Nasdaq is also seeking regulatory approval to trade tokenized stocks on its exchange.