Crypto exchange OKX has secured fresh backing from Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT) and SC Ventures as it works to expand beyond digital asset trading into a broader financial services platform spanning payments and traditional assets. The company did not disclose the size of the investment, but the financing values OKX at $25 billion before the new capital, according to an official announcement.

The round extends a March investment from Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. OKX said it plans to build a single platform for trading, payments, investing and other financial services.

OKX Draws New Strategic Investors

The investor group connects OKX with companies active across stablecoins, payments, custody and institutional trading. Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, while Ripple operates payment products and issues its own RLUSD stablecoin. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value against a reference currency such as the U.S. dollar, and they have become a key bridge for moving money between crypto markets and conventional finance.

SC Ventures is the venture arm of Standard Chartered, a bank that also works with BlackRock and OKX on custody arrangements tied to tokenized assets. QRT, meanwhile, provides institutional liquidity and trading capacity.

The expansion arrives as major crypto exchanges add services that sit closer to traditional finance. Payments, stablecoins, stocks and tokenized assets have become priority areas as firms search for new sources of revenue. Recent market activity also points to wider stablecoin use outside crypto trading: a USDC settlement pilot between Lloyds and Visa tested faster transfers across financial networks, adding another example of blockchain-based payment infrastructure.

Tokenized Stocks Face Liquidity Test

OKX and ICE have also moved into tokenized equities through their joint venture, OKXICE. The venture has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer round-the-clock trading in shares of 63 U.S. companies, with related plans for 24/7 tokenized U.S. stock trading showing how digital asset firms are testing regulated access to traditional securities. Tokenization turns rights in a traditional asset into digital tokens that can be transferred on a blockchain, and continuous trading would stand apart from conventional U.S. equity markets, which operate during fixed daytime sessions.

The proposed market would settle transactions on OKX's X Layer blockchain using stablecoins. Macquarie said institutional adoption will depend on liquidity, company participation and reliable pricing throughout the day, while the temporary five-year SEC framework may also affect how quickly large firms connect their systems.

Ripple is separately expanding blockchain payment activity in Asia, where the XRP Asia payments expansion has launched as part of a wider payments push. Together, these developments place stablecoins and blockchain settlement closer to mainstream finance.

OKX's latest funding gives the company additional strategic partners as it builds across both crypto and traditional markets. The size of the new investment remains undisclosed, and the OKXICE proposal is still before the SEC, leaving the round's final scope and the timetable for tokenized equities as open items. The exchange now faces the task of proving that users and institutions will adopt its broader platform as it enters more regulated financial services worldwide.