OKX Secures Investment from Circle, Ripple and Standard Chartered to Expand Beyond Crypto
OKX has raised new capital from a group of industry players including Circle and Ripple, valuing the exchange at $25 billion as it pivots toward becoming a broader financial technology platform.
OKX has secured fresh investment from Circle, Ripple, quantitative investment manager Qube Research & Technologies and SC Ventures, the venture arm of Standard Chartered. The funding round values the exchange at $25 billion on a pre-money basis, matching the valuation from a March investment by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
The exchange is looking to evolve from a venue focused on digital asset trading into a global financial technology platform that integrates crypto, payments and traditional assets on blockchain rails. OKX founder and CEO Star Xu stated that the exchange was the starting point for a broader ambition to allow customers to hold, spend, invest and grow their money within a single platform.
This expansion includes a joint venture with Intercontinental Exchange to launch a 24/7 market for tokenized U.S. stocks. The platform plans to offer trading for 63 U.S. companies using OKX’s X Layer blockchain and stablecoins such as USDC, USDT and USDG. The project is currently testing a five-year tokenization framework established by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with shares maintaining voting and dividend rights.
Market analysts have noted potential hurdles for the platform. A report from Macquarie suggested that early adoption will likely skew toward retail investors, as institutions face higher regulatory and technology integration costs. Macquarie and TD Securities both highlighted that the temporary nature of the regulatory exemption could make institutions hesitant to commit to the platform before long-term rules are established.
The new investors bring strategic alignment to OKX’s goals. Circle issues the USDC stablecoin, while Ripple provides payments infrastructure and issues the RLUSD stablecoin. Standard Chartered acts as a custodian for BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund, and Qube Research & Technologies serves as an institutional counterparty providing liquidity to the exchange.
