Wall Street giants double down
OKX has locked in a fresh round of investment that cements its $25 billion pre-money valuation, drawing capital from financial heavyweights including Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT)
The involvement of Standard Chartered stands out: its SC Ventures unit is not only investing but also playing a custodial role for tokenized assets. In particular, Standard Chartered acts as custodian for BlackRock’s BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund under a collateral arrangement involving both OKX and BlackRock. Meanwhile, QRT—a London-based quantitative hedge fund spun out from Credit Suisse and now running a crypto book estimated at $1 billion—serves as an institutional counterparty to OKX, providing vital liquidity and trading capacity.
The latest funding round is an extension of a March 2024 investment from Intercontinental Exchange, which previously contributed $200 million at the same $25 billion valuation.
Tokenized stocks eye SEC greenlight
A central pillar of OKX’s expansion is its push into tokenized equities. Through a joint venture with ICE called OKXICE LLC, the company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch 24/7 trading in tokenized shares of 63 major U.S. companies—including household names like Nvidia, Apple, and Coca-Cola. This effort leverages the SEC’s recently introduced “innovation exemption,” which allows qualifying platforms to trade tokenized U.S. equities on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges for up to five years—provided the tokens mirror ordinary share rights.
The planned platform will use OKX’s X Layer blockchain infrastructure and support major stablecoins such as USDC, USDT, and USDG for settlement. If approved, enable continuous trading outside standard market hours—a stark contrast to legacy equity markets.
Still, regulatory uncertainty lingers: while the SEC exemption opens doors, it also imposes strict requirements on token structure and investor protections.
Circle and Ripple deepen crypto ties
The participation of Circle Internet Group and Ripple in this funding round marks a notable convergence between established crypto infrastructure providers and multi-service exchanges like OKX. Both firms are known for their roles in stablecoin issuance (Circle with USDC) and cross-border payments (Ripple with XRP). Their direct backing suggests a shared vision for interoperable digital asset ecosystems—and it comes at a time when XRP maintains its spot as the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market cap.
As of October 6, 2026, XRP trades at $1.52 with minimal recent volatility: up just 0.01% over 24 hours and essentially flat over seven days (-0.02%). The token remains well below its all-time high of $3.65 reached in July 2025 but has shown resilience amid broader market fluctuations. This relative price stability may help explain why institutional players like Ripple are doubling down on strategic partnerships rather than chasing short-term price action.
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OKX bets big on stablecoins
Beyond equities, OKX is aggressively targeting stablecoin-based financial services through the rollout of OKX Money—a new app designed for savings and payments in emerging markets across Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Users can fund accounts with over 50 local currencies that are instantly converted into dollar-backed stablecoins (USDG, USDC, or USDT), enabling them to hold digital dollars or send funds across borders efficiently.
For qualifying customers holding USDG balances within OKX Money, advertised yields reach up to 10% annual percentage yield (APY) without requiring staking or lockups—a significant draw in regions where access to dollar savings is limited or costly through traditional banks. The app’s rollout is tailored market by market due to varying local regulations and legal entities.
Expansion targets emerging market savers
OKX’s international push comes amid surging demand for cross-border stablecoin flows—which climbed 77.5% year-over-year to $220.3 billion in the twelve months ending June 2026. By joining Paxos’s Global Dollar Network earlier this year (July 2025), OKX secured access to USDG liquidity for its users worldwide—a move that aligns with its ambition to serve both retail savers and institutional traders outside core U.S. markets.
Yet while these numbers look impressive on paper, regulatory hurdles in each jurisdiction make global scaling anything but straightforward.
According to decrypt.co, Qube Research & Technologies’ involvement underscores how quantitative hedge funds are increasingly active in providing liquidity for digital asset platforms—bridging gaps between traditional finance and crypto-native venues even as regulatory frameworks remain fluid.
Signals to keep an eye on
If the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission grants approval to the OKXICE joint venture’s filing to launch tokenized stock trading under the innovation exemption introduced in September, trading of tokenized shares in 63 U.S. companies—including Apple and Nvidia—could begin immediately; the timing of SEC approval remains unclear.