ICE, OKX form joint venture to build tokenised financial products

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Monday announced the formation of a joint venture with OKX, focused on building next-generation infrastructure for tokenised and digitally native financial products.

The 50-50 venture, subject to regulatory approvals, will also explore opportunities for regulatory-compliant blockchain-enabled markets.

The Georgia-based exchange group in March took strategic minority stake in the crypto trading firm as part of the exchange group’s plan to expand its presence in digital asset markets.

The joint venture will be co-chaired by Trabue Bland of ICE and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who began working with OKX in 2023.

Bland (pictured), senior vice president, Futures Exchanges at ICE, said: “ICE’s global benchmarks and regulated market technology have earned the trust of institutions and traders everywhere and now, through our partnership with OKX, we are working towards extending that reach to OKX’s 120 million retail traders.”

“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. Blockchain technology can lead to the democratisation of finance, bringing basic financial services to underserved populations.”

OKX on Tuesday announced the launch of equity USD Expiry Perps (X-Perp) including SanDisk, Intel, Micron Technology and Marvell Technology. X-Perp is designed to deliver a more flexible and efficient derivatives trading experience, the crypto exchange said.

Speaking on the sidelines of FIA's International Derivatives Expo (IDX) in London last week, Kraken's global head of derivatives John Palmer told FOW that growing interest in commodity, foreign exchange and equity perpetuals suggests the crypto-native product is evolving into a broader derivatives instrument.