Former New York Governor to Co-Chair Broker-Dealer Linking Digital Assets to NYSE Futures
Andrew Cuomo will co-chair a new joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange. ICE is the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The venture will build infrastructure connecting digital asset and traditional finance markets. Cuomo will serve alongside Trabue Bland, ICE’s senior vice president of futures exchanges, as the venture’s other chair.
The venture will operate as a registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant, pending regulatory approval. The announcement said it aims to give OKX’s 120 million global users access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized equities.
ICE and OKX first announced their partnership in March 2026, when ICE made a strategic investment that valued OKX at roughly $25 billion and gave ICE a board seat. The new venture is structured as a 50/50 partnership between the two companies. Cuomo’s relationship with OKX predates the venture. After resigning as New York governor in 2021, he advised the Seychelles-based exchange on its response to a federal investigation. That probe ultimately led OKX to plead guilty.
“The ICE-OKX joint venture is a step towards building the infrastructure that will define how global markets operate in the decades ahead,” said Bland.
Cuomo’s Regulatory Pitch and OKX Past
Cuomo served as New York’s 56th governor, New York State Attorney General, and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. He emphasized the regulatory dimension of the effort.
“The next chapter of financial markets will be defined by how well innovation and government regulation can move forward together,” Cuomo said. “This partnership brings together OKX’s world-class blockchain technology and ICE’s trusted market infrastructure to help build a more modern, transparent, and resilient financial system for the future.”
Cuomo’s history with OKX includes a sensitive chapter. After leaving the governorship in 2021, he took a paid role advising the exchange as the FBI and the Southern District of New York investigated it. In February 2025, OKX pleaded guilty to operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business in violation of US anti-money laundering laws and agreed to pay $505 million in penalties. Prosecutors said the platform facilitated billions of dollars in suspicious transactions before OKX removed US users. Cuomo also recommended that OKX appoint former US Attorney Linda Lacewell, a longtime ally, to its board. She later became the exchange’s chief legal officer.
The venture will also explore adjacent opportunities for regulatory-compliant blockchain-enabled markets, though the companies have not detailed specific areas.
ICE’s Expanding Digital Asset Footprint
ICE has positioned itself as a bridge between traditional finance and crypto markets. The company is a long-time backer of Bakkt, a digital asset firm. In October 2025 it committed up to $2 billion to Polymarket. The crypto-powered prediction market was valued at roughly $8 billion at the time.
The OKX-ICE venture represents a more direct entry into the digital asset infrastructure space for the exchange operator. The companies have not disclosed a timeline for regulatory approval and launch.
OKX operates one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges by trading volume and holds licenses across the US, UAE, European Economic Area, Singapore, and Australia, positioning the venture to serve multiple jurisdictions. The venture aims to onboard 120 million existing users into regulated access to tokenized equities and crypto futures. That would significantly expand the addressable market for both traditional and digital asset products.
Regulatory Path Ahead
The joint venture’s launch depends on approval from unspecified regulatory bodies. Neither the timeline for that approval nor the venture’s expected launch date has been disclosed.
Cuomo’s involvement signals an attempt to navigate the regulatory landscape in the United States, where oversight of crypto-traditional finance bridges remains contested across multiple agencies. His prior roles in New York state government and the federal cabinet position the venture to engage with both state and federal regulators.
