From Coinpedia · By Zafar Naik
Ripple has joined Circle, Standard Chartered’s investment arm SC Ventures, and quantitative trading firm Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) in a new funding round for crypto exchange OKX at a $25 billion valuation, according to bloomberg
OKX has not disclosed the size of the new investment. The round follows a $200 million investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, in March at the same $25 billion valuation.
OKX Valuation Holds at $25 Billion
The latest funding keeps OKX’s valuation unchanged from its March financing round, suggesting investors are backing the exchange at the same valuation seven months later.
The new group of investors also brings companies from different parts of the financial and digital asset sectors into OKX’s shareholder base. Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, while Ripple provides blockchain-based payment and digital asset infrastructure. SC Ventures is the investment arm of Standard Chartered.
QRT, a London-based quantitative trading firm, is also joining the company’s investors. The firm is a spinout of Credit Suisse and has an existing crypto fund with around $1 billion in assets.
New Capital to Support Market Infrastructure
OKX Global Managing Partner Haider Rafique said the funding will be used to strengthen the exchange’s long-term market infrastructure.
QRT’s quantitative trading director Thomas Eaton said the investment reflects the firm’s view of the long-term growth of digital assets and 24-hour markets.
The companies have not disclosed the individual amounts invested by each participant.
OKX Expands Into Tokenized Stocks
The funding comes as OKX continues to expand beyond traditional crypto trading.
OKX and ICE have been working together through their joint venture, OKXICE LLC. The venture recently sought approval to offer tokenized shares of 63 U.S. public companies, including Nvidia, Apple and Coca-Cola.
The proposed offering would operate under a new U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission innovation exemption that allows qualifying platforms to trade certain tokenized U.S. equities on public blockchains without registering as national securities exchanges.
OKX has also expanded its equity-related products through perpetual futures linked to major U.S. stocks, including the Magnificent Seven, as well as the S&P 500.
The latest funding therefore comes as the exchange continues to build products around both digital assets and blockchain-based financial markets.
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