Crypto exchange OKX has raised fresh funding at a $25 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported, drawing support from a mix of crypto and traditional finance investors.
Participants in the round include Circle Internet Group, Ripple, Standard Chartered’s investment arm SC Ventures, and Qube Research & Technologies, which is joining OKX’s cap table for the first time. The exchange did not disclose how much capital it raised.
Valuation unchanged from March round
The financing extends a round that closed in March, when Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, invested about $200 million in OKX at the same $25 billion valuation. At the time, that deal was framed around tokenized securities. Seven months later, the price has not changed.
Haider Rafique, OKX’s global managing partner, said in a statement that the money 「focuses on strengthening OKX's long-term market infrastructure」.
QRT joins the investor group
London-based quant firm Qube Research & Technologies, or QRT, is a Credit Suisse spinout and already operates a crypto fund with about $1 billion in holdings.
Thomas Eaton, a quantitative trading director at the firm, said the investment reflects confidence in 「the long-term growth of digital assets and 24/7 markets」.
OKX and ICE push ahead on tokenized stocks
OKX and ICE have been building together since March. Their joint venture, OKXICE LLC, said on Monday that it is seeking approval to sell tokenized stock in 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola.
The proposed offering would operate under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption, introduced in September a few days after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate. The exemption allows qualifying venues to trade tokenized U.S. equities on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges, for as long as five years.
It applies only to tokens that carry the same rights as ordinary shares, including dividends and voting rights. Synthetic products that only track price movements are excluded.
Issuers get a 30-day objection window
The exemption also limits how many stocks each venue can list and gives issuers 30 days to object to a third party tokenizing their shares. Under that structure, Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola each have veto power over whether their stock appears on the venue.
Other routes to equity exposure
OKX has also been building equity exposure through other products, including perpetual futures tied to Magnificent Seven stocks and the S&P 500.