OKX Secures $25 Billion Funding from Circle, Ripple, and Standard Chartered

OKX, a major crypto exchange, has secured new funding at a $25 billion valuation, according to an announcement made on Tuesday. The round included investments from Circle, Ripple, and Standard Chartered’s venture arm, SC Ventures. The exchange highlighted that this strategic investment aligns key financial infrastructure builders with its vision for the next generation of on-chain markets.

OKX CEO Star Xu stated that the capital raised will support the company’s efforts to tokenize real-world assets. The exchange, originally focused on trading, is now evolving into a broader global financial technology platform. Earlier this year, the Intercontinental Exchange also invested in OKX, leading to the creation of a joint venture, OKXICE, which recently filed with the SEC to launch a tokenized securities platform for U.S. stock trading.

The growing interest from traditional finance firms in crypto technology is evident, with Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton already utilizing blockchain for tokenizing money funds. Tokenization has gained momentum, especially since the U.S. elected a pro-crypto president, Donald Trump, who has appointed regulators more friendly to the crypto space. In September, the SEC approved tokenized stock trading, further boosting the sector.

Other significant deals between traditional finance and crypto include the S&P 500 approving a new derivative contract on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, allowing 24-7 trading of the stock index. These developments reflect the increasing integration of crypto technology into mainstream financial markets.