OKX appoints former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to board

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has appointed former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to its board of directors, formalizing a multi-year advisory relationship as the company seeks to deepen its ties to Wall Street and navigate U.S. regulatory approval for new ventures. The move, announced this week, coincides with OKX's ongoing partnership with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, on a joint venture to tokenize traditional financial assets.

Cuomo, who served as governor from 2011 to 2021, has advised OKX on U.S. regulatory strategy since 2023. He also co-chairs a 50-50 joint venture between OKX and ICE, announced last month, which aims to build infrastructure for tokenized stocks and derivatives trading. That venture plans to register as a U.S. broker-dealer and futures commission merchant, pending regulatory approvals. If successful, it would grant OKX's global user base access to tokenized versions of NYSE-listed equities and ICE futures contracts.

The appointment is widely seen as an effort by OKX to bolster its institutional legitimacy and policy fluency as it expands in the United States. The exchange, one of the world's largest by...