Crypto22 June, 20262 min read
Intercontinental Exchange and OKX Launch Joint Crypto Venture Led by Andrew Cuomo
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OKX-ICE joint venture led by Cuomo to bridge traditional finance and crypto. Gives OKX's 120 million users access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities.
Cuomo Leads OKX-ICE
Intercontinental Exchange and crypto exchange OKX announced a joint venture led by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, with the project set to be co-chaired by ICE and Cuomo and subject to regulatory approvals. The venture is expected to operate as a U.S. registered broker dealer and futures commission merchant, aiming to build "24/7 trading infrastructure" needed for tokenizing financial products on chain.
OKX says the deal would give its 120 million customers access to ICE futures and NYSE-listed tokenized equities markets, while the companies also plan to explore "adjacent opportunities" to build blockchain-powered markets. ICE senior vice president of futures exchanges Trabue Bland said the venture is a "step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead."
Regulatory Path and Past
Multiple outlets tied the venture’s structure to U.S. regulatory status, with the project described as a U.S. regulated broker dealer and futures commissions merchant that would allow OKX’s American and overseas customers to access ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities markets. The American Banker reported that the companies are still waiting on regulatory approval to operate as a U.S. registered broker dealer, and it said Cuomo will lead the joint venture between ICE and OKX.
The Seattle Times said Cuomo began working with OKX in 2023 and described him as co-chairing the joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange Inc. depending on regulatory approvals. The American Banker also linked Cuomo’s crypto involvement to OKX’s earlier legal troubles, noting that OKX ultimately pled guilty in 2025 to violating anti-money-laundering laws and agreed to pay more than $500 million in penalties for operating in the U.S. without a license.
Stablecoin Rules Shift
While the OKX-ICE venture targets tokenized equities and futures, the Bank of England moved to ease stablecoin rules by publishing a policy statement and draft rules for systemic stablecoins in the United Kingdom. The BoE said systemic stablecoin issuers will be allowed to hold up to 70% of reserves in interest-bearing government debt, and it replaced proposed holding limits with a temporary 40-billion-pound issuance cap.
Cointelegraph quoted Coinbase head of policy Katie Harries saying, "Two questions remain if the UK is to fully capitalize on the benefits stablecoins can bring," including what "temporary" means for the per-coin issuance cap. ClearBank CEO Mark Fairless said the BoE’s change was "a positive step," but added that further progress is needed to ensure the regime does not constrain sustainable business models, particularly through the backing asset requirements.