Crypto exchange OKX has raised fresh capital at a $25 billion valuation, with backing from Circle Internet Group, Ripple, Standard Chartered's investment arm SC Ventures, and Qube Research & Technologies. The exchange did not disclose the amount raised.
The funding round extends a March investment by Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, which invested approximately $200 million at the same $25 billion valuation. Seven months later, OKX's valuation remains unchanged.
Haider Rafique, OKX's global managing partner, said the capital "focuses on strengthening OKX's long-term market infrastructure." Thomas Eaton, a quantitative trading director at Qube Research & Technologies, noted the investment reflects confidence in "the long-term growth of digital assets and 24/7 markets."
Tokenized Securities Expansion
OKX and ICE have been collaborating since March through a joint venture called OKXICE LLC. On Monday, the venture announced it is seeking approval to offer tokenized stock in 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola.
The offering would operate under the Securities and Exchange Commission's innovation exemption, introduced in September. This exemption allows qualifying venues to trade tokenized U.S. equities on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges, for a period of up to five years.
Tokenized shares under this exemption must carry the same rights as ordinary shares, including dividends and voting rights. Price-tracking synthetics are excluded. The exemption also limits the number of stocks each venue can list and gives issuers 30 days to object to their shares being tokenized by a third party.
OKX has also expanded equity exposure through other avenues, having listed perpetual futures on Magnificent Seven stocks and the S&P 500.
