Intercontinental Exchange has signed tZERO as a partner in developing infrastructure for its planned NYSE-affiliated tokenised securities venue, the Digital Trading Platform.
The two firms agreed a memorandum of understanding on 31 August. The agreement does not mark the launch of the venue, which remains subject to regulatory approval and technology and operational requirements.
What Is inside the MOU
Under the MOU, tZERO will act as a design partner for the platform’s digital transfer agent and broker-dealer infrastructure. The work is intended to support ownership records, transfer processing and post-trade workflows for tokenised securities traded and settled on-chain.
ICE also plans to consult tZERO as it sets standards for digital transfer agents, tokenisation agents and broker-dealer subscribers connecting to the platform.
If tZERO meets ICE’s regulatory, technology and operational requirements, it is expected to be designated an approved digital transfer agent and subscriber on the Digital Trading Platform. ICE has not yet granted that designation.
“tZERO’s experience in regulated on-chain infrastructure makes them a valuable partner as we expand our upcoming digital transfer agent program in support of tokenised securities trading and settlement,” said Michael Blaugrund, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at ICE.
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Who Else Is Involved
The tZERO agreement follows ICE’s March MOU with Securitise for digital transfer-agent work on the same platform. Securitise is expected to support issuers that want to mint blockchain-native securities for corporate or ETF listings.
At the same time, tZERO is being brought in for transfer-agent and broker-dealer functions. ICE first outlined the Digital Trading Platform in January, describing a venue for 24/7 trading and near-instant settlement of tokenised US equities and ETFs, with dollar-denominated orders and stablecoin-based funding, pending regulatory clearance.
For tZERO, the work centres on the systems that determine legal ownership, process transfers, and handle dividends and voting for tokenised shares.
A Stake and a Patent Licence
ICE is also investing in tZERO’s latest financing round. In connection with that investment, it will receive a licence to use tZERO’s blockchain patent portfolio on the Digital Trading Platform and other applications.
The portfolio spans 23 patent families and 103 patents, covering areas including compliance-aware transfer logic, upgradeable smart contract frameworks and corporate-action handling.
The two firms will also evaluate using tZERO’s tokenised assets for collateral management at ICE’s clearing houses. Neither company disclosed the size of ICE’s investment in tZERO, the terms of the patent licence, or which blockchains will underpin the platform.
ICE has not set a launch date for the Digital Trading Platform or said which securities would trade on it first. It also remains unclear whether tokens will serve as the primary form of issuance or as digital representations of shares held in existing systems.
