Andrew Cuomo Calls 24/7 Stock Trading a ‘Game-Changer’ as ICE, OKX Seek Launch

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo calls round-the-clock tokenized stock trading a “transformational game-changer,” as the venture he co-chairs races to become one of the first to launch it. What OKXICE Actually Filed Cuomo told The Wall Street Journal Friday that OKXICE, his 50-50 joint venture between Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) and crypto exchange OKX, filed Monday with U.S. regulators to launch a 24/7 tokenized stock trading platform. He called it the first real step toward trading American securities globally around the clock, something he said could bring billions into the U.S. economy. Cuomo’s path to this role traces back to his time as New York governor, when his administration rolled out the BitLicense, the country’s first state-level crypto regulatory framework. He’s advised OKX on U.S. strategy since 2023, even as the China-founded exchange agreed to pay more than half a billion dollars in 2025 to resolve a federal investigation. Why the SEC’s Exemption Matters More Than the Clarity Act Cuomo argued the CLARITY Act’s Senate failure actually opened the door for OKXICE’s filing. “When the Clarity Act fails, ambiguity prevails,” he said, explaining that federal agencies stepped in to fill the regulatory void. The SEC’s resulting innovation exemption lets companies tokenize stocks on a limited basis, with set caps on volume and ticker count, before expanding further. He expects the next major shift to come from the midterms, predicting Democrats could take one or both chambers of Congress based on current prediction markets. That matters because agency regulations don’t override legislation, meaning a new Congress could eventually revisit the Clarity Act itself. How Cuomo Plans to Handle Company Pushback Not every company wants its stock tokenized. Cerebras Systems recently declared it doesn’t want its shares tokenized, and Cuomo said he expects more companies to take a wait-and-see approach. “You’re talking about radical change to the traditional finance system, and change always brings disruption,” he said, adding that the SEC’s cautious, limited rollout gives regulators room to adjust as issues surface. Why Solana Already Leads This Shift As Benzinga reported Thursday, Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) briefly processed more trades than the NYSE in September, according to Citrini Research, as tokenized equities and real-world assets move deeper into crypto infrastructure. Meanwhile, Securitize announced plans to bring 12 major U.S. stocks, including Apple, Nvidia and Tesla onto Solana, with plans to later expand those same tokens to both NYSE’s upcoming digital platform and OKXICE’s venue. Where Cuomo Sees This Heading Cuomo described OKXICE’s long-term vision as something bigger than a crypto exchange. “It’s no longer just a crypto company,” he said. “It’s a financial-technology company,” one where AI could eventually help users trade stocks, make payments and get market guidance all through a single platform. Photo via Shutterstock