OKX draws investment from StanChart, Circle, Ripple as it pushes beyond crypto exchange roots
OKX's relationship with ICE shows how that expansion is reaching traditional markets. An OKX-ICE joint venture filed this week to introduce tokenized stock trading under a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) framework, pushing the exchange toward a business traditionally dominated by brokerages and securities exchanges.
OKXICE plans to offer 24/7 trading in tokenized shares of 63 U.S. companies using OKX’s X Layer blockchain and stablecoins, including USDC, USDT and USDG. The venue is an early test of the SEC’s new five-year tokenization framework, with shares retaining dividend and voting rights.
Whether that model attracts institutions remains an open question.
In a report on Tuesday, investment banking firm Macquarie said adoption will depend on OKXICE attracting enough companies, investors and liquidity providers to keep prices reliable around the clock. The temporary nature of the SEC exemption could also make institutions reluctant to spend money connecting their systems to the platform before they know whether the rules will last. TD Securities raised similar concerns in a Monday note.
Macquarie expects early adoption to lean toward retail investors because institutions already have efficient access to U.S.-listed stocks and face higher regulatory and technology hurdles. Still, the platform could provide another test of stablecoins as a settlement tool for regulated financial markets rather than just crypto trading.