Crypto exchange OKX has secured fresh strategic investment at a $25 billion valuation, bringing stablecoin issuer Circle, blockchain payments company Ripple, Standard Chartered’s venture arm, and quantitative trading firm Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) into its investor base.
OKX announced the investment on Oct. 6, saying the transaction is an extension of the strategic investment round led by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, earlier this year.
The company did not disclose the amount invested by the new participants.
The latest transaction maintains OKX’s $25 billion valuation from its March financing, when ICE invested in the exchange. Bloomberg reported at the time that ICE invested roughly $200 million, although the companies did not publicly disclose the amount.
Circle, Ripple and Standard Chartered join OKX
The new investors bring together companies operating across several layers of the financial system.
Circle, the issuer of USDC, provides stablecoin infrastructure and dollar-based financial rails. Ripple brings payments, liquidity and stablecoin expertise, while QRT is a major quantitative trading firm and institutional counterparty to OKX.
Standard Chartered’s SC Ventures provides a traditional banking connection, particularly around institutional custody and tokenized assets.
OKX said the investors already have commercial relationships with the exchange.
“Financial infrastructure works when its core components connect,” the company said, pointing to the convergence of stablecoin issuance, liquidity, collateral and custody.
Standard Chartered, for example, is involved in OKX’s institutional collateral framework with BlackRock, under which BlackRock’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL can be used as trading collateral while being held in regulated custody.
Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin is also available through OKX’s unified order book, while QRT already works with the exchange on liquidity and new market products.
Star Xu: ‘We didn’t raise capital because we needed it’
OKX founder and CEO Star Xu positioned the transaction as a strategic move rather than a fundraising exercise driven by a need for capital.
In a LinkedIn post announcing the investment, Xu wrote:
“We didn’t raise capital because we needed it. We chose to bring in strategic partners who share our long-term vision for stablecoins, payments, institutional markets, and the next generation of financial infrastructure.”
Xu also said OKX had spent 13 years building its business but remained early in its broader ambitions.
“13 years in, we’re still early,” Xu wrote.
The CEO’s comments point to a significant shift in how OKX sees itself. While the company began primarily as a crypto exchange, its current strategy increasingly involves connecting digital-asset infrastructure with traditional financial markets.
In OKX’s own announcement, Xu described the company’s ambition as building a financial technology platform that combines crypto infrastructure with the standards expected from global financial institutions.
“The exchange was our starting point, and we are evolving into a broader global financial technology platform,” Xu said.
OKX’s strategy is moving beyond crypto trading
The investment comes as OKX and ICE deepen their relationship.
ICE invested in OKX at the $25 billion valuation in March, taking a minority position and securing a seat on OKX’s board. The partnership also included plans around crypto market data, tokenized securities, derivatives, clearing, and other financial-market infrastructure.
The two companies have since established OKXICE, a joint venture focused on digital financial products and tokenized markets.
OKXICE has been working toward offering tokenized U.S. equities, subject to regulatory approval. Recent reporting indicates the venture has sought approval to offer tokenized shares representing 63 U.S. public companies.
That makes the latest investment more significant than a conventional crypto-sector funding event.
Circle brings stablecoin infrastructure. Ripple brings payments and liquidity. Standard Chartered brings banking, custody, and institutional-market expertise. QRT brings quantitative trading and institutional liquidity.
Together, the investors represent several of the financial-market functions OKX is attempting to connect through its broader platform.
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Why the $25 billion valuation matters
The valuation is notable because OKX has maintained the $25 billion mark established in March despite the latest investment coming from a different group of strategic investors.
The transaction therefore does not represent a new $25 billion capital raise. Rather, OKX is valued at $25 billion in the latest investment transaction, while the amount of fresh capital remains undisclosed.
That distinction is important as institutional capital continues moving deeper into digital assets.
For OKX, the investor mix may ultimately matter as much as the size of the cheque.
The company is positioning itself at the intersection of crypto trading, stablecoins, tokenized real-world assets, institutional custody, payments and 24/7 financial markets.
Xu summarized the direction in his LinkedIn announcement: the company wants to build around “stablecoins, payments, institutional markets, and the next generation of financial infrastructure.”
If that strategy succeeds, OKX could increasingly compete not simply as a crypto exchange, but as part of the infrastructure connecting traditional financial markets with blockchain-based markets.
