On August 31, 2026, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, signed a memorandum of understanding with tZERO to collaborate on infrastructure for tokenized securities markets. Under the agreement, tZERO will serve as a design partner for ICE’s upcoming NYSE-affiliated tokenized securities platform and for digital transfer agent and broker-dealer infrastructure supporting on-chain settlement.
ICE also plans to participate in tZERO’s latest financing round and will license tZERO’s blockchain patent portfolio, which includes 103 patents covering compliant transfers, smart contracts, and corporate actions. The companies said they will explore the use of tZERO’s tokenized assets for collateral management at ICE clearing houses and other affiliates.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with ICE for the NYSE-affiliated digital transfer agent program,” tZERO CEO Alan Konevsky said. “We have spent years building an end-to-end regulated platform for tokenized securities and related IP. Partnering with ICE to expand our breadth and reach to public equities is a natural step forward for our infrastructure-as-a-service offering and more broadly for tokenized markets.”
tZERO received approval to custody digital assets in September 2024, becoming only the second firm at that time to secure U.S. regulatory sign-off. It competes with Securitize and Superstate in the tokenization sector, and earlier this summer filed a cease-and-desist letter demanding that Securitize halt two products. Securitize said its registry and vault systems lack key features covered by the disputed patents.
ICE has expanded its onchain-related activity over the past year. The company announced a $600 million direct cash investment in Polymarket in March, adding to $1 billion provided in October, and invested in crypto exchange OKX at a $25 billion valuation. In May, ICE and OKX announced a 50-50 joint venture to develop next-generation infrastructure for tokenized and digitally native financial products.
Michael Blaugrund, ICE vice president for strategic initiatives, said tZERO’s experience in regulated on-chain infrastructure makes it “a valuable partner as we expand our upcoming digital transfer agent program in support of tokenized securities trading and settlement.”
