ICE Chief Strategy Officer David Goone will become tZERO CEO and will join its board of directors.
New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (ICE) will take an ownership stake in tokenized securities venue tZERO, ICE said in an announcement on Tuesday U.S. time.
Ice’s investment will make it a “significant” minority shareholder in tZero, according to the announcement, which didn’t provide the stake size or dollar value of the transaction, while saying there will be no financial impact to ICE or its capital return plans.
Other investors in tZERO include Overstock.com, an original investor in tZERO, and Medici Ventures, a blockchain-focused fund whose general partner is an entity affiliated with Pelion Venture Partners, and others.
The alternative trading system (ATS) had been been looking for a buyer or partner since at least mid-2021, two people familiar with the plans told CoinDesk on June 2.
ICE is also majority owner of cryptocurrency exchange Bakkt, which went public via a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) VPC Impact Acquisition Holdings in October of last year.