Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, and San Jose-based crypto exchange OKX said on May 22 they will launch perpetual oil futures on OKX.

The new derivative will utilize ICE’s benchmark pricing for Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate. They will roll out across specific markets where OKX is licensed to offer them.

Perpetual futures are derivatives that let traders bet on price moves without an expiry date or physical delivery.

Most of these products are offered outside the US, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission has said it plans to bring them under its oversight.

The move follows a March agreement between the companies to build trading technology, and ICE has also disclosed a strategic investment in OKX.

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🔗 Source: CoinDesk

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

The partnership reaches past oil futures

ICE bought a minority stake in the OKX group at a US$25 billion valuation and took a board seat as part of a wider tie-up 1. OKX will give ICE a live price feed for crypto assets on its platform. ICE plans to use that data as it weighs future products, including digital-asset access for large investors 2. The plan could later let OKX’s roughly 120 million users trade ICE’s U.S. futures and NYSE tokenized equities. The rollout is expected in the second half of 2026 if regulators approve it 2. For OKX, the deal fits its effort to build a more regulated U.S. business after a US$500 million settlement with the Department of Justice, the U.S. government’s main law-enforcement agency 3.

ICE is working with crypto exchanges while warning about DeFi risks

ICE is working with a large centralized exchange. It also sees future rivals in decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols and “super apps” rather than traditional exchanges 3. ICE has urged U.S. regulators to closely review Hyperliquid, a fast-growing decentralized trading platform. Hyperliquid offers perpetual futures and has moved into synthetic markets for commodities, including oil-linked contracts 4. This approach gives ICE access to crypto technology and customer reach through OKX, while backing tighter oversight for venues that established firms view as risks to market integrity 4. ……