Intercontinental Exchange Enters Agreement To Bring Trade[XYZ]'s Perpetual Markets Onshore In The U.S.; Will Make Undisclosed Investment In The Perpetual Futures Provider
Benzinga Newsdesk 3 days ago
M&ANews
Under the agreement, ICE is the exclusive operator of Trade[XYZ]'s regulated markets and intends to establish a new, dedicated, regulated retail market and clearing structure for that purpose. ICE is also making a
Under the agreement, ICE is the exclusive operator of Trade[XYZ]'s regulated markets and intends to establish a new, dedicated, regulated retail market and clearing structure for that purpose. ICE is also making a strategic investment in Trade[XYZ] to support the agreement.
The agreement expands ICE's addressable market to a large population of retail traders including those currently transacting offshore, while preserving the focus and integrity of ICE's core institutional futures and clearing franchise. ICE's participation today is more than 99% institutional, making retail a new and incremental market opportunity.
Bringing Trade[XYZ] onshore
Under the agreement, ICE and Trade[XYZ] will work to bring perpetual markets into a U.S.-regulated market structure. Trade[XYZ] offers eligible users outside the United States 24/7 access to perpetual contracts referencing equities, equity indices, commodities, and currencies. Hyperliquid provides the underlying infrastructure for these markets, while Trade[XYZ] designs and implements the products customers seek to trade.
A new retail growth opportunity, operated separately from ICE's institutional core
Retail participation in markets has grown significantly in recent years and is becoming far more global, with retail traders increasingly seeking short-duration exposure, often around the clock, across crypto, equities, commodities, foreign exchange and other real-world assets. A perpetual contract does not lock in a price for a future date because it never expires. Instead, it facilitates short-term exposure to a market. Institutional participants, by contrast, manage risk over months and years, which is why ICE's commercial hedgers rely on traditional futures, forward-curve price discovery, and centrally cleared physical and cash settlement. Retail perpetual markets serve a different customer base, with different trading behavior and different market needs. Accordingly, ICE intends to operate the new retail perpetuals business through a separate, dedicated regulatory structure, so that the new retail opportunity expands the overall market size for ICE without altering the character of its existing institutional franchise.
Dedicated regulatory structure
ICE intends to seek regulatory approvals to bring Trade[XYZ]'s markets into a U.S. regulated framework, combining Trade[XYZ]'s Hyperliquid deployment expertise with ICE's exchange, clearing and regulatory capabilities within a new, dedicated retail market structure. Once those approvals are obtained, Know Your Customer/Anti Money Laundering-verified customers are expected to access these regulated perpetual markets through futures commission merchants ("FCMs") that become members of the platform.
Expanded distribution through the ICE-OKX joint venture
ICE made a strategic investment in OKX earlier this year. The two companies' joint venture is intended to connect OKX's global retail customer base to ICE-operated markets, subject to approval of its FCM and broker-dealer subsidiaries. Trade[XYZ]'s regulated perpetual contracts are expected to be offered through the joint venture, giving ICE an additional distribution channel into a large global retail trading population. OKX provides distribution and customer access, Trade[XYZ] brings expertise in retail perpetual markets, and ICE provides the regulated market and clearing infrastructure that ties them together.
Strategic and financial highlights
Expands ICE's total addressable market to a large, global population of retail traders currently active on offshore venues
Preserves the integrity of ICE's institutional franchise by operating through a separate, dedicated clearing structure, meaning ICE's commercial hedgers and existing institutional customer base bear no exposure to the trading or counterparty risk of retail traders on the new Trade[XYZ] platform
Consistent with ICE's strategy of investing behind long-term trends that expand participation, increase transparency and create new demand for ICE's markets and data, while continuing to strengthen the institutional franchise at the core of ICE's business
About the agreement
ICE is making a strategic investment in Trade[XYZ] alongside the agreement. Distribution of these new products through the ICE-OKX joint venture remains subject to the joint venture's own pending regulatory approvals as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and FCM.
ICE's minority position in Trade[XYZ] is not expected to have a material impact on ICE's 2026 adjusted financial results, capital return or deleveraging plans.