StanChart, Circle, Ripple back crypto exchange OKX at unchanged $25bn valuation

Circle, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), Ripple and SC Ventures by Standard Chartered have invested in crypto exchange OKX at a $25 billion pre-money valuation. The deal extends a round led by NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) in March. The amount raised was not disclosed.

Each investor already has a business relationship with OKX. Circle issues the USDC stablecoin, QRT is a major trading counterparty and Standard Chartered holds client collateral in custody. Ripple is the newest arrival, with its RLUSD stablecoin listed in April.

Star Xu, OKX’s founder and CEO, said the round provides capital “to keep growing and to tokenize real-world assets”. The exchange has already moved beyond crypto. In May ICE agreed to license its Brent and WTI oil benchmarks for OKX perpetual futures. In July OKX started offering more than 40 tokenized US stocks and ETFs to clients outside the US and Europe. And yesterday OKXICE announced the launch of a tokenized securities venue (TSV) using the SEC exemption.

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