Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) has taken a stake in crypto exchange OKX at a $25 billion valuation and will take a board seat, the companies announced Thursday.

OKX’s native token OKB spiked roughly 50% on the news, surging from around $78 to $120 before quickly reversing back toward $92.

The deal started with a meeting last summer between OKX global managing partner Haider Rafique and ICE chairman Jeffrey Sprecher. What was supposed to be a 30-minute conversation reportedly turned into a four-hour session.

What Traders Get

OKX’s roughly 120 million users will get access to ICE’s U.S. futures and tokenized equities markets, with rollout expected in the second half of 2026.

ICE will license OKX’s spot crypto prices to launch U.S.-regulated crypto futures contracts.

Sprecher said the deal will help “accelerate our plans to offer on-chain infrastructure and tokenized assets to U.S. investors.”

ICE’s Crypto Shopping Spree

This is ICE’s third major crypto-adjacent move in under six months.

The NYSE parent invested $2 billion in Polymarket in October at an $8 billion pre-money valuation.

In January, it announced blockchain-based trading infrastructure for tokenized securities.

ICE is not alone. Rival Nasdaq Inc (NASDAQ:NDAQ) put $50 million into Gemini last September.

Citadel Securities invested $200 million in Kraken at a $20 billion valuation.

OKX’s $500 Million In Federal Penalties Didn’t Scare ICE Off

OKX is not arriving with a clean record.

The Seychelles-based exchange pleaded guilty last year to operating an unlicensed money transmitting business in the U.S. and paid over $500 million to the Department of Justice.

It relaunched stateside in April, and Rafique told Fortune the company may relocate up to 2,000 of its 5,000 employees to the U.S. to support the new product line.

ICE appears to be betting that the regulatory risk is priced in and that the tokenized equities land grab matters more.

Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ:COIN) launched commission-free stock trading inside its app last month and has signaled tokenized stocks are next.

Kraken and Robinhood Markets Inc (NASDAQ:HOOD) already offer tokenized equity trading in Europe. The window for a traditional exchange to own a piece of this infrastructure is narrowing fast.

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