Intercontinental Exchange and OKX announced on June 22 a 50-50 joint venture that, pending regulatory approval, will operate as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant. The separately incorporated entity will let OKX's 120 million global users trade ICE futures contracts and tokenized equities tied to NYSE-listed stocks through a single interface — the first co-owned market-access vehicle of this kind between a major traditional exchange operator and a crypto exchange.

How the joint venture works

OKX supplies the user base; ICE supplies regulated market infrastructure. The scope extends beyond NYSE equities: ICE also operates ICE Futures U.S., ICE Futures Europe, and a set of clearing and data businesses, all of which fall within the venture's remit. ICE separately plans to license OKX's spot price data for use in its U.S.-regulated futures products, with broader collaboration on clearing, risk management, and multi-chain custody also outlined.

Leadership

The venture is co-chaired by Andrew Cuomo, who has advised OKX since 2023, and Trabue Bland, ICE's Senior Vice President of Futures Exchanges. "The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead," Bland said. Cuomo framed the venture as a regulatory-integration story: "The next chapter of financial markets will be defined by how well innovation and government regulation can move forward together," he said.

Background and regulatory timeline

The announcement extends a strategic relationship that began in March 2026, when ICE invested approximately $200 million in OKX at a valuation of roughly $25 billion. OKX returned to the U.S. market after a 2025 settlement with the Department of Justice in which the exchange pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering laws and paid $500 million. Obtaining a U.S. operating license following that settlement made OKX eligible to participate in a regulated U.S. market entity. The venture requires regulatory approval before launch; no date has been set.