OKX has bolstered its U.S. push by adding former New York governor Andrew M. Cuomo to its board of directors, formalizing a relationship that has been in place since 2023 as the crypto exchange deepens ties with traditional finance.
The appointment, announced July 20, confirms Cuomo’s transition from external adviser to board member. Cuomo — who served as New York’s 56th governor, state attorney general and U.S. secretary of housing and urban development — has been advising OKX on U.S. regulatory and institutional strategy for roughly three years. OKX founder and CEO Star Xu said the move “formalizes a relationship that has already shaped how we approach the U.S. market,” though the company did not disclose any specific committee assignments or additional board duties.
Cuomo will also retain his role as co-chair of the recently announced joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The June JV aims to bridge established market infrastructure with blockchain-based products — potentially giving OKX users access to ICE futures and tokenized equity markets — but its planned services remain subject to regulatory approvals.
The board appointment arrives as OKX rebuilds its U.S. presence. The exchange relaunched a U.S. trading platform and self-custody wallet in April 2025 and opened a regional headquarters in San Jose, California, after a prolonged compliance overhaul following a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over prior compliance shortcomings. OKX has also beefed up KYC, fraud detection and other controls and named Roshan Robert to lead its U.S. operations.
OKX’s corporate strategy extends beyond the U.S. relaunch. In March, ICE made a strategic investment in OKX that valued the crypto firm at $25 billion, though the investment amount was not disclosed. OKX says its licensing footprint now spans the U.S., the European Economic Area, the UAE, Singapore and Australia. The company has additionally launched an AI marketplace this year for autonomous agents to transact and build on-chain reputations — part of a suite of product moves aimed at institutional and tokenized markets.
Why Cuomo matters to OKX: his experience navigating state and federal government, combined with three years of hands-on advisory work for the exchange, adds regulatory and political depth as OKX seeks institutional partners and approval for tokenized-market offerings. For OKX, the hire signals an aggressive push to link traditional finance infrastructure with blockchain innovation — a push that will depend heavily on winning regulatory trust and approvals in major jurisdictions.
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