OKX has completed a strategic investment round backed by Circle, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), Ripple, and SC Ventures by Standard Chartered at a US$25 billion pre-money valuation. The financing extends a round led by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, which was announced in March. OKX said the new commitments deepen its relationships with partners that support stablecoin issuance, liquidity, collateral, and custody across its platform.
Extension of the Intercontinental Exchange-Led Round
The latest commitments extend a round led by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, which was announced in March. OKX described that earlier investment as a new chapter in building next-generation financial infrastructure. The current extension deepens relationships with four partners that each serve critical roles in the ecosystem.
Investor Roles Across Financial Infrastructure
Each investor in this extension already supports a core layer of OKX's market infrastructure. Circle issues USDC, the world's largest regulated stablecoin, while QRT acts as a major institutional counterparty and provides liquidity and risk capacity at scale. Ripple contributes payments and stablecoin infrastructure through its RLUSD stablecoin, and Standard Chartered serves as custodian for BUIDL, the tokenized Treasury fund used in OKX's collateral framework with BlackRock.
Executive Commentary on OKX's Vision
Star Xu, Founder and CEO of OKX, said the company's vision is to let users hold, pay with, invest, and grow assets on a platform combining crypto technology with institutional standards. He added that the round provides capital to continue growth and to tokenize real-world assets, while the investors are aligned with OKX's evolution from an exchange into a broader global financial technology platform. Xu described this foundation as central to the company's next phase.
Stablecoins and Payments
Jeremy Allaire, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Circle, said the investment deepens Circle's relationship with OKX and signals where next-generation market infrastructure is heading. He described USDC's integration across OKX as an example of regulated dollar infrastructure meeting one of the world's most active onchain trading environments. Jack McDonald, SVP of Stablecoins at Ripple, added that stablecoins are becoming core global financial infrastructure and that OKX will play an important role in driving that shift.
Liquidity and Institutional Custody
Thomas Eaton, Quantitative Trading Director at QRT, described the investment as a reflection of confidence in OKX and the long-term growth of digital assets and 24/7 markets. Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures by Standard Chartered, stressed that institutional engagement requires trustworthy infrastructure from the outset, including institutional grade custody. He said the partnership reflects the importance of such infrastructure in enabling the onchain economy.
Strategic Alignment for Onchain Markets
OKX is aligning critical builders of financial infrastructure behind its vision for next-generation onchain markets, where stablecoin issuance, liquidity, collateral, and custody operate together under institutional standards. The company views the exchange as a starting point and plans to evolve into a broader global financial technology platform. The participation of Circle, QRT, Ripple, and SC Ventures signals confidence in that direction.
The completed investment strengthens OKX's capital base and expands strategic relationships with firms operating across stablecoins, market making, payments, and institutional custody. It follows the earlier backing from Intercontinental Exchange and reinforces OKX's push to connect crypto technology with traditional financial standards. The announcement signals growing institutional alignment around regulated infrastructure for digital assets, tokenized real-world assets, and round-the-clock markets.