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Circle, Ripple and SC Ventures Back OKX at $25B Valuation
Fresh funding keeps March pricing unchanged as exchange expands tokenized-stock push
TL;DR
- OKX raised fresh capital at a $25 billion valuation, unchanged from its March funding round.
- Circle Internet Group, Ripple, SC Ventures and Qube Research & Technologies participated in the latest investment.
- OKX’s venture with Intercontinental Exchange is seeking approval for tokenized shares in 63 U.S. public companies.
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OKX raised new funding on Tuesday, Oct. 6, at a $25 billion valuation, with Circle Internet Group, Ripple, Standard Chartered’s investment arm SC Ventures and London-based Qube Research & Technologies participating, Bloomberg reported, citing a company statement. OKX declined to say how much it raised. Qube joined as a new investor, while the valuation remained unchanged from the exchange’s previous funding round.
That earlier round closed in March, when Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, invested around $200 million in OKX at the same valuation. The deal was framed around tokenized securities. Seven months later, the latest capital raise has kept OKX’s valuation at the same level.
OKX global managing partner Haider Rafique said the new capital “focuses on strengthening OKX's long-term market infrastructure.” OKX founder and CEO Star framed the raise as a decision to bring in long-term strategic partners rather than a need for cash. Circle, Ripple and SC Ventures were described as aligned with OKX’s plans across stablecoins, payments, institutional markets and next-generation financial infrastructure.
Qube Research & Technologies, also known as QRT, is a Credit Suisse spinout that already operates a crypto fund holding about $1 billion. Thomas Eaton, a quantitative trading director at QRT, said the investment reflected confidence in “the long-term growth of digital assets and 24/7 markets.”
OKX and ICE Seek Tokenized-Stock Approval
OKX and ICE have been working together since March. Their joint venture, OKXICE LLC, said Monday that it is seeking approval to offer tokenized shares in 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia, Apple and Coca-Cola. OKX’s trading products team separately reported that average daily trading volume across tokenized stocks and other real-world-asset markets has reached $3 billion.
The planned offering would operate under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption, introduced in September days after the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate. The framework allows qualifying venues to trade tokenized U.S. equities on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges for up to five years. Eligible tokens must carry the same rights as ordinary shares, including dividends and voting rights, while synthetic products that only track share prices are excluded.
The exemption also limits how many stocks each venue can list and gives issuers 30 days to object when a third party seeks to tokenize their shares. Under those rules, Nvidia, Apple and Coca-Cola can each object to having their stock offered through the venture. OKX has also expanded its equity-linked products through perpetual futures tied to Magnificent Seven stocks and the S&P 500.
Following the funding announcement, COIN360 data showed the OKB price rose about 6% to $138.
This article has been refined and enhanced by ChatGPT.
