OKX Global Managing Partner Haider Rafique: The Challenge of On-Chain is Market Structure

Haider Rafique, Global Managing Partner of OKX, stated that the importance of the collaboration reached with the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in March lies in the relative straightforwardness of asset tokenization, while the more challenging aspect is building the surrounding market structure.

He specified that for the tokenized market to reach a meaningful scale, institutional-grade infrastructure, liquidity, execution, custody, and distribution must operate together. What OKX is doing with ICE and NYSE is integrating ICE's market infrastructure with OKX's on-chain facilities, digital asset execution, and global distribution. He views the inclusion of Blockchain.com in the distribution side as an early example of this scalable model and anticipates more platforms will connect and extend their reach globally. The greater opportunity is not merely to put stocks on-chain but to enable the global market to operate on-chain.

The trigger for comments was the memorandum of understanding signed between the NYSE Group and Blockchain.com: pending regulatory approval, they plan to offer tokenized U.S. listed stocks and ETFs to Blockchain.com users through the NYSE's planned digital alternative trading system. The platform has not yet launched, and there is no public start date or trading terms. Both parties will also exchange data: ICE Data Services will distribute cryptocurrency market data to Blockchain.com, while Blockchain.com will integrate some NYSE and ICE market data within its application. The company claims to have confirmed accounts exceeding 44 million, covering over seventy jurisdictions. CEO Peter Smith stated that investing in U.S. stocks should not be limited by residence and brokerage thresholds. NYSE Group President Lynn Martin emphasized the goal of combining the trust of traditional finance with the accessibility of digital assets.

The NYSE announced this digital ATS in January, planning to pair Pillar matching with on-chain settlement, supporting round-the-clock trading, fractional shares, stablecoin deposits, and instant on-chain clearing; in March, it also signed a memorandum of understanding with Securitize for construction. In March of the same year, ICE acquired a stake in OKX, valuing it at approximately $25 billion and gaining a board seat, exploring the distribution of U.S. futures and tokenized stocks to OKX users, and licensing OKX's spot prices for U.S. compliant crypto futures. In June, both parties announced a joint venture, pending approval, to service OKX clients with U.S. brokerage and futures commission merchant licenses. Blockchain.com already has offshore tokenized U.S. stock products in collaboration with Ondo within its application, which do not share the same launch conditions as the NYSE ATS.

Mechanically, this is a competition for distribution rights. The buyers are looking for crypto-native accounts that support round-the-clock, fractional, and stablecoin settlements; the sellers are traditional channels that still sell U.S. stocks based on trading hours and brokerage account access. Funds will first flow to the entry points that can connect to ATS and data licenses, rather than to another token issuer without an order book. Beneficiaries include ICE's matching and data, OKX, and Blockchain.com's accounts, while those with only tokens lacking clearing and custody face pressure.

On a supplementary level, the memorandum of understanding is not a license, and transactions depend on ATS approval and access in various regions. Citi Research previously provided a benchmark scenario for tokenized assets in the 2030s at approximately $5.5 trillion, which does not constitute a transaction commitment for this platform.

Source: Public Information