OKX Adds Circle, Ripple, and SC Ventures to Cap Table at $25 Billion Valuation

OKX has brought on Circle, Ripple, QRT, and SC Ventures as strategic investors. The exchange confirmed the completion of the round on Oct. 6, which maintains its $25 billion pre-money valuation, the same level set during a March round led by Intercontinental Exchange.

CEO Star Xu stated that the company did not raise capital due to a financial need. Instead, the exchange sought partners aligned with its long-term vision for stablecoins, payments, institutional markets, and financial infrastructure.

The new investors hold businesses that overlap with OKX’s expansion goals. Circle issues USDC, which is integrated on the platform, while Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is available via the exchange’s unified order book. QRT serves as an institutional counterparty for liquidity and risk, and Standard Chartered acts as a custodian for the BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund used in an institutional collateral framework with OKX.

Following the investment, OKX launched a standalone app called OKX Money on Tuesday. The app allows users to save, send, and spend dollar-backed stablecoins including USDG, USDC, and USDT. It supports funding from over 50 currencies and offers virtual or physical cards for spending.

The app is designed to attract users who have never interacted with crypto, with OKX noting that roughly 70% of its target audience for the service falls into this category. To facilitate this, the company has kept the underlying blockchain infrastructure largely hidden from the user experience.

Eligible users can earn up to 10% annually on certain USDG balances without lockups or staking, and a loyalty program provides up to 10% cashback on card purchases. Availability and specific features will vary by market.

OKX plans to roll out the service gradually across its operating jurisdictions, focusing initially on markets where banking access and foreign-exchange costs present challenges. The company now faces the task of proving that its new strategic relationships can drive mainstream adoption and payment volumes beyond its existing trading base.