Crypto exchange OKX has completed a new strategic investment round at a $25 billion pre-money valuation. Four new investors joined the round: Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) and SC Ventures, the investment arm of Standard Chartered.

The deal was completed on October 6, 2026, and extends a funding round from March 2026 that was led by Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. OKX did not disclose how much money it raised in the latest extension, so the total size of the round cannot be determined from the announcement. According to the company, the capital will support its plans across stablecoins, tokenization, payments, custody and institutional markets. The pricing matches the valuation set in the March round.

OKX confirmed the transaction in an official announcement and in a post from its account on X:

We're announcing a strategic investment from @Circle , QRT, @Ripple and SC Ventures by @StanChart at a $25 Billion pre-money valuation. This is how we're aligning critical builders behind our vision for the next generation of onchain markets.

— OKX (@okx) October 6, 2026 (X post)

Valuation Held at $25 Billion

ICE invested roughly $200 million in OKX in March under terms that valued the exchange at $25 billion. The new extension does not raise that figure. OKX kept the same valuation it set seven months earlier, rather than completing the round at a higher price.

Because the round is priced on a pre-money basis, the $25 billion figure refers to OKX's value before the new investment is counted — meaning the newest investors entered at the same valuation ICE accepted in March. OKX framed the deal around firms that already provide key parts its business, including stablecoin issuance, liquidity, payments and custody. It described the move as a way of aligning critical builders behind its vision for the next generation of onchain markets.

What Each Investor Brings

The investor list pairs two stablecoin issuers, a multi-strategy investment manager and a bank's venture arm, each with a defined role in OKX's platform.

Circle issues the USDC stablecoin, which is already built into OKX's platform. Ripple provides payments, liquidity and stablecoin services, and its RLUSD stablecoin is already available through OKX's unified order book.

QRT is a global multi-strategy investment manager that acts as an institutional counterparty to OKX, providing liquidity and risk capacity. SC Ventures gives the exchange another link to institutional custody and tokenized assets. Standard Chartered acts as custodian for BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized Treasury fund, which is part of a collateral framework developed with OKX and BlackRock.

The composition of the group mirrors the product areas the new capital is earmarked for. Stablecoin issuance, payments, liquidity, custody and tokenized assets are all functions the investors already perform within or alongside OKX's operations, a structure consistent with company's framing of the deal as aligning firms that already provide key parts of its business.

From Exchange to Financial Platform

Founder and CEO Star Xu said OKX wants to build a platform where users can hold, pay, invest and grow assets within the same financial system. The exchange, he said, was the company's starting point rather than its final product. OKX is now positioning itself as a broader financial technology platform rather than a standalone trading venue.

The new funding is expected to support tokenized real-world assets, stablecoin infrastructure and payments. It will also go toward institutional liquidity, custody and onchain markets. Each of those areas corresponds to a capability represented among the new investors, from Circle's and Ripple's stablecoin infrastructure to QRT's institutional liquidity and Standard Chartered's custody work.

Building on the ICE Partnership

The round builds directly on OKX's ties with ICE. Since March, the two companies have expanded their work on tokenized securities and have been developing OKX ICE, a joint venture focused on tokenized US equities. The project is working on infrastructure that could bring US-listed stocks onchain through a regulated structure.

OKX has also expanded its institutional and payments products during 2026 and has worked more closely with stablecoin issuers and traditional financial firms. The company said the new capital will support its tokenization, stablecoin, payments and institutional market plans as its partnership with ICE continues. OKX has not indicated a timeline for these plans, and with the round size undisclosed, the scale of capital behind them remains unknown.

This report is based on coverage first published by Blockonomi.