Circle vs OKX

Circle's Response to the European Commission's MiCA Review Consultation

Circle has published its response to the European Commission's MiCA review consultation, outlining its position on the regulatory framework for stablecoins in the EU.

OKX Raises $25B Valuation with Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered

Crypto exchange OKX has closed a new funding round at a $25 billion valuation, with Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), and SC Ventures (Standard Chartered's investment arm) joining as investors. The amount invested and equity stakes were not disclosed. The investors are all existing business partners of OKX: Circle issues USDC, Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD is integrated into OKX's order book, QRT provides liquidity, and Standard Chartered custodies BlackRock's BUIDL fund used as collateral. CEO Star Xu framed the round as strategically aligned rather than driven by financial need. The valuation matches the $25 billion from ICE's investment in March, and OKX is considering a US IPO within four years. The company also launched OKX Money to convert local currencies into dollar stablecoins for emerging markets.

• OKX raised new funding at a $25 billion valuation (approx. €22.2 billion).
• New investors include Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies, and SC Ventures.
• The investment amount and equity stakes were not disclosed.

8-K Financial Filing Analysis for Circle (2026-09-25)

On September 25, 2026, Circle Internet Group, Inc. announced significant executive and governance changes. Co-founder P. Sean Neville resigned from the Board of Directors effective immediately for personal reasons, reducing the Board's size from eight to seven members as part of a board refreshment initiative. Concurrently, Chief Financial Officer Jeremy Fox-Geen notified the company of his decision to step down by December 31, 2026, or upon the appointment of a successor. Circle has engaged an executive search firm to identify its next CFO. In connection with his planned departure, Circle entered into a post-termination separation agreement granting Fox-Geen $1,050,000 in cash severance over 12 months, accelerated vesting on two months of RSUs, and extended option exercise terms in exchange for non-compete and non-solicitation covenants.

• Co-founder P. Sean Neville resigned from the Board of Directors effective September 25, 2026, reducing the Board size from eight to seven members.
• CFO Jeremy Fox-Geen will step down by December 31, 2026, while continuing on his $500,000 annualized base salary and maintaining eligibility for a 110% target annual incentive award during the transition.
• Separation terms for the departing CFO include $1,050,000 in aggregate cash severance paid over 12 months, two months of accelerated RSU vesting, a 12-month post-termination option exercise extension, and 12-month non-compete / 24-month non-solicitation covenants.

OKX Raises $25B Valuation with Circle, Ripple, Standard Chartered

Crypto exchange OKX has closed a new funding round at a $25 billion valuation, with Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies (QRT), and SC Ventures (Standard Chartered's investment arm) joining as investors. The amount invested and equity stakes were not disclosed. The investors are all existing business partners of OKX: Circle issues USDC, Ripple's stablecoin RLUSD is integrated into OKX's order book, QRT provides liquidity, and Standard Chartered custodies BlackRock's BUIDL fund used as collateral. CEO Star Xu framed the round as strategically aligned rather than driven by financial need. The valuation matches the $25 billion from ICE's investment in March, and OKX is considering a US IPO within four years. The company also launched OKX Money to convert local currencies into dollar stablecoins for emerging markets.

• OKX raised new funding at a $25 billion valuation (approx. €22.2 billion).
• New investors include Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies, and SC Ventures.
• The investment amount and equity stakes were not disclosed.

NYSE Parent ICE and OKX Plan 24/7 Tokenized Stock Trading

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), operator of the New York Stock Exchange, and crypto exchange OKX have announced plans for their joint venture OKXICE to launch a trading venue for tokenized U.S. stocks, operating 24/7. The venue will offer about 60 tokenized stocks, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle, and SpaceX. Trading will occur on OKX's layer-2 network X Layer using Uniswap v4 permissioned liquidity pools, with settlement in stablecoins USDC, USDG, or USDT. Users will hold tokens in self-custody wallets, with underlying stocks held by tokenization providers. The move follows an SEC 'Innovation Exemption' allowing such venues to operate without registering as exchanges, subject to strict limits on volume and stock selection. ICE took a minority stake in OKX in March at a $25 billion valuation. Critics, including SIFMA and Better Markets, warn of market fragmentation and regulatory arbitrage.

• ICE and OKX plan to launch OKXICE, a 24/7 trading venue for tokenized U.S. stocks, after filing a proposal with the SEC.
• The venue will offer about 60 tokenized stocks, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart.
• Trading will run on OKX's X Layer (Ethereum Layer-2) using Uniswap v4-based restricted liquidity pools, with settlement in stablecoins USDC, USDG, or USDT.

OKX Launches Pre-IPO Perpetuals and Tokenized Stocks in Europe

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has launched two new product categories for European customers: pre-IPO markets via perpetual futures (X-Perps) and tokenized stocks. The pre-IPO markets initially feature OpenAI and Anthropic, allowing traders to speculate on their valuations with up to 10x leverage. Additionally, OKX offers about 100 tokenized stocks, including SpaceX, Google, Nvidia, and Palantir, tradable 24/7, usable as collateral, and withdrawable to self-custody wallets. The products are offered through OKX Europe Markets Ltd., licensed by Malta's MFSA. OKX CEO Erald Ghoos noted that pre-IPO markets were previously unavailable to most European traders and that X-Perps volume in Europe quadrupled since the MiCA transition period ended in July. Similar products exist from competitors like Binance, Hyperliquid, PreStocks, Kraken, and Coinbase. The instruments do not confer ownership rights and may diverge from actual valuations, as exemplified by Anthropic's perpetuals implying a $1.93 trillion valuation versus $965 billion in its Series H round.

• OKX launched pre-IPO perpetual futures (X-Perps) on OpenAI and Anthropic for European customers.
• OKX also introduced approximately 100 tokenized stocks, including SpaceX, Google, Nvidia, and Palantir.
• Trading leverages up to 10x on these pre-IPO perpetuals.