Andrew Cuomo joins OKX's board of directors to help cryptocurrency exchanges expand U.S. market

Former New York Governor joins OKX Board

Former New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has joined the board of cryptocurrency exchange OKX. The company is expanding its U.S. operations and strengthening links with traditional financial institutions.

Summary

Andrew Cuomo has provided U.S. regulatory strategy advice to OKX since 2023 and is now officially joining the board of directors. His appointment comes as OKX expands its U.S. operations and deepens institutional cooperation with Intercontinental Exchange. Como will co-chair OKX's tokenization joint venture with ICE, which aims to more closely connect traditional and digital markets.

OKX announced the appointment on July 20 and said Como has been working with the company since 2023. During this period, he was responsible for advising the exchange on U.S. regulatory and institutional strategy. Cuomo served as the 56th governor of New York, New York State Attorney General, and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This board appointment is a formal confirmation of his existing relationship with OKX, rather than the opening of a new advisory role.

OkX founder and CEO Xu Mingxing said Cuomo has played a role in shaping the way exchanges enter the U.S. market. The company did not disclose details of specific board committees or additional responsibilities related to the appointment. "He joined the board and formally confirmed a relationship that has affected how we enter the U.S. market," Xu said. OKX said Como's experience in the public sector and regulation will support the company's development of services in traditional finance and digital finance.

Como said on social media: "Financial markets are evolving, whether we are leading change or watching it happen. Blockchain and tokenization have the potential to make markets faster, more efficient, and easier to access. So I am proud to co-chair the joint venture between ICE and OKX and join..."

The appointment comes as OKX continues to rebuild and expand its business in the United States. The company relaunched its U.S. cryptocurrency exchange and self-managed wallet in April 2025 and established regional headquarters in San Jose, California. The restart follows a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over past compliance issues. OKX also appointed Roshan Robert to lead its U.S. operations and said it has strengthened Know Your Customers, fraud detection and other compliance systems.

ICE partnership expands OKX's institutional strategy

Como will also continue to serve as co-chair of OKX's joint venture with Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The two companies announced the joint venture in June as part of a plan to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain-based products. The proposed platform could allow OKX users to access ICE's futures products and the tokenized stock market associated with the New York Stock Exchange. The project is still pending regulatory approval.

The two companies plan to combine ICE's exchange and market data infrastructure with OKX's on-chain and self-managed technology. The structure is designed to support institutions 'access to tokenized financial products while connecting mature market infrastructure with digital asset systems. The partnership was reached after ICE invested in OKX in March. According to OKX, the deal values the cryptocurrency company at $25 billion. The investment amount was not publicly disclosed in the early announcement.

OKX expands business beyond cryptocurrency trading

OKX has been adding products as it seeks to play a greater role in institutional and tokenized markets. The company said its license coverage now includes markets such as the United States, the European Economic Area, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Australia. Its U.S. expansion is part of that broader strategy. According to early reports, after spending more than a year developing compliance infrastructure, the company will return to the market in 2025 in the form of a centralized exchange and self-managed wallet.

At the same time, the partnership with ICE provides OKX with another avenue to enter the growing market for tokenized traditional assets. The joint venture is planned to develop products that connect blockchain infrastructure with mature futures and stock markets, although the two companies still need to obtain relevant approvals before launching the proposed services.

OKX has also launched an artificial intelligence marketplace that allows autonomous agents to find jobs, conduct transactions and build on-chain reputation. The company cited the launch, its partnership with ICE and broader licensing activities as part of its 2026 expansion.

In addition, Cuomo's appointment brings to OKX a board member who has served at both the state and federal levels of government. He also advised the exchange directly on regulatory and institutional matters for approximately three years. The move thus connects two areas of OKX's current strategy: its continued U.S. expansion and its efforts to attract more institutional financial activity. The exchange has returned to the U.S. market, and its partnership with ICE targets an alternative path to tokenized assets and traditional market infrastructure.