Intercontinental Exchange agreed on Aug. 31 to invest in tZERO and license its blockchain patents as the companies develop infrastructure for an upcoming NYSE-affiliated tokenized securities platform.

The agreements make tZERO a design partner for digital transfer-agent and broker-dealer systems intended to support the issuance, trading and on-chain settlement of public securities. ICE owns the New York Stock Exchange and several major clearing houses.

The companies did not disclose the size of ICE’s investment, tZERO’s valuation or a timetable for completing the financing round. The platform also remains subject to regulatory, technical and operational requirements.

ICE adds tZERO to its tokenized securities program

Under a memorandum of understanding, ICE plans to consult tZERO while creating standards for digital transfer agents, tokenization agents and broker-dealers connecting to the planned Digital Trading Platform.

Transfer agents maintain official ownership records, process corporate actions and update shareholder information. These functions must remain accurate when securities move across blockchain addresses rather than conventional record-keeping systems.

tZERO is expected to become an approved digital transfer agent and platform subscriber if it satisfies the applicable requirements. The wording does not guarantee approval, designate tZERO as the platform’s exclusive provider or confirm that commercial operations have started.

ICE Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Michael Blaugrund described tZERO as a “valuable partner” for the digital transfer-agent program. The statement represents ICE’s assessment of the partnership rather than a confirmed measure of the platform’s future performance.

tZERO will also license blockchain technology to ICE. The company says its portfolio contains 103 patents across 23 families covering compliance-aware transfers, smart-contract upgrades, corporate actions and identity management between broker-dealers.

The portfolio has become the subject of a separate dispute. As crypto.news reported, Securitize challenged tZERO’s patent allegations in a Delaware federal court. Securitize argues that its products do not infringe tZERO’s intellectual property. The court has not decided those claims.

NYSE’s blockchain platform targets continuous settlement

NYSE first announced the tokenized securities platform in January. Its proposed design combines the exchange’s Pillar matching engine with blockchain-based systems for settlement and custody.

Subject to approval, the venue would support 24/7 trading, immediate settlement, fractional shares, dollar-denominated orders and stablecoin-based funding. ICE said the post-trade architecture could support several blockchains rather than depending on one network.

The platform would accommodate blockchain-native securities and tokenized versions of conventionally issued stocks. ICE says tokenized shareholders would retain conventional rights, including dividends and participation in corporate governance.

Those features would distinguish regulated tokenized securities from offshore products that merely track stock prices. Some synthetic tokens do not represent legally recognized company shares or provide direct ownership rights.

The project does not mean that the existing NYSE market is moving entirely onto a blockchain. ICE plans a separate venue distributed through qualified broker-dealers and aligned with established U.S. market-structure requirements.

No final platform rules, supported blockchain networks, stablecoins, listing standards or public launch date have been announced. The companies also have not identified which SEC applications or exchange-rule filings will be required before trading begins.

tZERO joins Securitize among ICE’s design partners

tZERO is not the first infrastructure company recruited for the project. NYSE signed a separate memorandum with Securitize in March, naming it as the first digital transfer agent eligible to mint blockchain-native securities for participating corporate and ETF issuers.

That earlier agreement also covered transfer-agent standards and broker-dealer participation. Securitize Markets is expected to become a platform participant if it meets the necessary requirements.

Adding tZERO indicates that ICE is building a network of infrastructure providers rather than relying on one tokenization company. Each provider could connect issuers, brokers and investor records to the exchange’s trading and settlement systems.

The arrangement also gives ICE access to tZERO’s experience operating regulated digital-securities infrastructure. tZERO’s subsidiaries include an SEC-registered broker-dealer, alternative trading system and transfer agent.

In related coverage, crypto.news reported that NYSE’s on-chain settlement plans moved beyond their initial announcement as ICE worked with banks and infrastructure companies on trading, custody and around-the-clock funding.

The expansion comes as tokenized equities attract exchanges, brokerages and asset managers. Public blockchain data can show token transfers, but legal ownership still depends on issuer records, securities laws and approved market infrastructure.

Tokenized collateral could extend beyond the NYSE venue

ICE and tZERO will also evaluate whether tZERO-issued tokenized assets can be used as collateral across ICE clearing houses and other affiliates. This portion remains exploratory and does not confirm that any token has been approved for margin purposes.

ICE operates six clearing houses covering markets that include energy contracts and credit-default swaps. Using tokenized collateral could allow clearing members to move qualifying assets outside conventional banking hours.

ICE is separately working with BNY and Citi on tokenized deposits. The company has said these instruments could help clearing members transfer funds, meet margin requirements and manage liquidity across jurisdictions and time zones.

Before accepting tokenized assets, clearing houses would need rules for valuation, custody, eligibility, settlement finality and risk controls. ICE and tZERO did not provide a testing schedule or name potential collateral instruments.

ICE shares closed Aug. 31 at $160.70, down approximately 1% for the session. The stock traded between $158.40 and $162.01. No verified evidence links the decline directly to the tZERO announcement.

The next concrete milestones will be regulatory filings, approved technical standards and the designation of participating transfer agents and broker-dealers. Until those steps occur, the agreements advance development but do not authorize public trading.

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules on Aug. 31 that would let licensed intermediaries facilitate retail investment in qualifying digital asset derivatives traded overseas.

The proposal covers retail, high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth investors. It does not authorize unrestricted access to every crypto futures or options product listed outside Thailand.

Eligible contracts would have to resemble digital asset derivatives permitted in Thailand. The SEC identified the underlying asset, maturity, leverage, delivery method and settlement structure as relevant comparison points.

The consultation will remain open through Sept. 30. The regulator has not announced when final rules could take effect or which foreign exchanges and contracts would qualify.

Retail access would carry product and exchange limits

Under the proposal, an overseas crypto derivative offered to noninstitutional clients must have characteristics consistent with products traded domestically. That condition is intended to prevent intermediaries from directing retail clients toward contracts carrying unfamiliar structures or substantially greater leverage.

The SEC did not publish a list of eligible cryptocurrencies, exchanges or maximum leverage levels in its English-language announcement. Those details may depend on the domestic contract specifications being developed with the Thailand Futures Exchange.

The overseas exchange must use a central counterparty, or CCP, to clear trades. A CCP becomes the buyer to each seller and the seller to each buyer, reducing direct counterparty exposure between market participants.

The exchange must also be supervised by a regulator that is a Signatory A to the International Organization of Securities Commissions’ Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding, or belong to the World Federation of Exchanges.

Those criteria create a regulatory test rather than a blanket country list. An offshore platform would not qualify merely because it offers Bitcoin or Ether futures to customers in another jurisdiction.

Institutional investors could access broader products

Crypto derivatives that fail the proposed retail conditions could only be offered to institutional investors. The SEC said these investors are better equipped to assess complex products and manage losses from leverage, volatility and settlement risks.

This distinction means qualifying the exchange alone would not be enough. The specific contract would also need to match the relevant Thai product characteristics before an intermediary could make it available to retail or wealthy individual clients.

Existing Thai rules already let intermediaries facilitate overseas derivatives investments for retail and high-net-worth clients when the foreign instruments resemble products tradable in Thailand. The new proposal creates tailored conditions for crypto because overseas contracts vary widely in leverage, maturity and settlement.

Perpetual futures may require particular scrutiny because they have no fixed expiry and use recurring funding payments. The SEC did not state whether such products would meet the similarity test. Their eligibility will depend on the final rules and domestic specifications.

The proposal also concerns regulated intermediaries facilitating access. It does not legalize direct use of every offshore crypto exchange by Thai residents or override restrictions affecting unlicensed foreign platforms.

Thailand is still designing domestic crypto contracts

Thailand expanded its derivatives framework earlier in 2026 by adding cryptocurrencies and digital tokens as eligible underlying assets under the Derivatives Act.

As crypto.news previously reported, Thailand formally recognized cryptocurrencies as permissible underlyings for regulated futures and options. The SEC Board’s related notification was dated March 5.

The regulator is now discussing contract specifications with TFEX. Those discussions are expected to address the underlying assets, contract sizes, margin requirements, leverage and settlement methods needed for a domestic product.

TFEX had not listed a cryptocurrency futures or options contract as of Sept. 1. Its public product directory showed equity index, single-stock, precious metal, currency, interest-rate and agricultural derivatives, but no digital asset category.

The absence of a domestic contract creates an open question for the overseas-product comparison. The SEC may need to complete or substantially define the TFEX framework before intermediaries can determine which foreign contracts meet the similarity requirement.

Thailand has separately considered allowing crypto businesses to obtain derivatives licenses without establishing new corporate entities. The planned change would let qualified firms expand within one regulated structure while maintaining controls for conflicts and customer protection. The earlier licensing proposal sought to reduce duplicate corporate requirements.

Sept. 30 feedback will shape the final rules

Investors, intermediaries, banks, digital asset businesses and other stakeholders can submit comments through the SEC’s consultation page, Thailand’s Legal Hub or the email addresses provided by the regulator.

The consultation asks respondents whether noninstitutional investors should receive access when every prescribed condition is met. It separately asks whether institutional investors should be allowed to access products outside those conditions.

After Sept. 30, the SEC can revise the proposal before approving final amendments. No statutory deadline requires the regulator to complete that process immediately after comments close.

Further information will also be needed from TFEX. Contract specifications would determine which overseas instruments have sufficiently similar leverage, maturities and settlement arrangements.

The proposal produced no verified market movement directly attributable to the announcement. It did not approve a particular cryptocurrency, exchange, broker or derivatives contract.

Thailand is also developing locally regulated crypto exchange-traded funds. In related coverage, proposed spot Bitcoin and Ether ETF rules set an 80% minimum digital asset exposure. Together, the initiatives show the regulator expanding supervised investment access while retaining product-level restrictions.

Ireland has excluded crypto and derivatives from tax-advantaged investment accounts due to the launch in 2027, while allowing listed stocks, bonds, ETFs and retail investment funds.

Ireland’s Department of Finance said in its retail investment roadmap that crypto assets and derivatives will remain outside the new account because the government considers them “highly complex and risky” products.

The account will instead cover listed shares, listed bonds, financial instruments traded on regulated markets, and funds considered suitable for retail customers. Exchange-traded funds and certain insurance-based investment products will also qualify.

Scheduled to become available next year, the structure will be open to Irish tax residents aged 18 or older who hold a Personal Public Service Number. Each person may have one account, and approved providers will calculate, report and pay any tax owed to Ireland’s Revenue Commissioners on the investor’s behalf.

No minimum contribution will apply, although the government plans to impose an annual contribution limit. The size of that limit, the tax-free threshold, and the low annual flat tax rate on balances above the threshold will be announced in Budget 2027, scheduled for Oct. 6.

Ireland investment accounts will simplify retail taxes

Investments held within the account will not fall under Ireland’s existing investment tax rules, including the deemed-disposal system. Under the current framework, certain funds are treated as sold after eight years, requiring investors to pay tax on gains even when they continue holding the investment.

By removing deemed disposal from the account and assigning tax administration to providers, the government plans to reduce the filing work handled by individual investors. Account holders will also be able to access their money when needed rather than facing restrictions commonly attached to retirement products.

Cash deposits will not qualify as investments inside the account. According to the roadmap, providers may hold cash only temporarily while an account holder purchases another eligible asset.

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said Irish households save at high rates but invest comparatively little through capital markets. Central Bank of Ireland research cited when the proposal was discussed in March found that households held only 2.3% of their financial assets in listed shares and debt securities, compared with an EU average of 7.5%.

Roughly €170 billion was held in Irish bank deposits at the time, according to figures reported by Reuters. Harris said inflation can reduce the value of money left in low-yield accounts, while the proposed structure would bring several investment types together under one tax system.

Legislation establishing the accounts is due to appear in Ireland’s Finance Bill. The roadmap also lists possible reforms from Budget 2028 onward, including a lower investment tax rate, changes to deemed disposal and simpler administration across the existing retail tax framework.

Crypto remains outside Ireland’s tax preference

Excluding crypto means Irish residents will not receive the account’s tax treatment when buying Bitcoin, Ether or other digital assets directly. The roadmap does not prohibit residents from owning or trading crypto through services that are otherwise permitted to operate in Ireland.

Irish authorities have separated market access from tax eligibility by allowing regulated crypto activity under European Union rules while keeping digital assets outside the new retail account. The Central Bank of Ireland oversees crypto service providers operating from the country under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation.

As crypto.news reported in August, Ireland’s national AML strategy requires service providers to conduct enhanced checks on some transfers involving self-hosted wallets. For transfers exceeding €1,000, regulated firms must take steps to assess whether a customer owns or controls the private address involved.

Ireland’s 12-month MiCA transition period ended on Dec. 30, 2025, earlier than the final EU-wide cutoff of July 1, 2026. Firms previously operating under national registrations needed MiCA authorization or another lawful route to continue providing covered services.

A separate Irish risk assessment published in June classified digital assets as a “very significant” money laundering and terrorist financing risk. The assessment cited crypto-related fraud, sanctions evasion, tax enforcement difficulties, and activity in less-regulated areas such as decentralized finance.

Central bank data included in that assessment showed that about 10% of Ireland’s population had invested in crypto as of December. Authorities also assigned the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland responsibility for establishing standards on crypto-linked sources of funds by the second quarter of 2027.

MiCA controls access without granting tax benefits

Under MiCA, an authorized crypto asset service provider may use passporting rights to serve customers across EU and European Economic Area markets. Ireland has become one of the jurisdictions used by firms seeking regulated access to the region, including Kraken, which received its MiCA authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland in June 2025.

Authorization has not been extended to every provider. An August analysis found that 1,062 EEA firms in a TRM Labs dataset had not obtained MiCA approval after the final EU transition deadline. Only 281 of the 1,343 providers examined had secured authorization by July 1.

TRM Labs found that 12% of unauthorized providers carried a High or Severe risk rating, compared with 2% of authorized firms. Unauthorized providers also sent $5 billion directly to sanctioned counterparties, nearly three times the $1.7 billion linked to authorized firms, according to the blockchain intelligence company.

MiCA governs matters such as authorization, custody, disclosures, and consumer protection for crypto service providers. Ireland’s investment account follows a separate tax policy, allowing the government to keep regulated crypto services available while limiting the assets that receive preferential retail tax treatment.

U.S. investors can access crypto through some IRAs

Ireland’s decision differs from the approach available to some American investors. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s investor education office says custodians of self-directed IRAs may allow retirement money to be invested in alternative assets, including crypto.

The SEC warns that self-directed accounts can carry fraud, custody, and valuation risks. Custodians generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of an investment, leaving account holders responsible for checking the asset and the promoter offering it.

Outside a tax-advantaged account, the Internal Revenue Service treats digital assets as property rather than currency for federal tax purposes. U.S. taxpayers may need to report income, gains, and losses from crypto transactions, including sales and exchanges between different digital assets.

The IRS has also introduced Form 1099-DA reporting for certain broker-handled digital asset transactions. Under current instructions, covered brokers must provide information related to qualifying sales, while taxpayers remain responsible for reporting taxable digital asset income even if they do not receive the form.

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Kalshi has secured an exclusive partnership with the U.S. Tennis Association to become the US Open’s prediction market platform partner as the tournament’s main draw gets underway in New York.

Front Office Sports reported on Aug. 30, citing two people familiar with the agreement, that the partnership took effect immediately after being finalized following last week’s qualifying rounds. Financial terms and other parameters of the agreement were not disclosed.

The deal gives Kalshi an official role at one of tennis’s four Grand Slam tournaments and was completed later than initially planned. The US Open, owned and operated by the USTA, had previously considered waiting until 2027 or later before entering a prediction market partnership.

Kalshi becomes US Open prediction market partner

Discussions in recent weeks had involved multiple prediction market platforms and focused partly on match integrity and potential partnerships beginning next year, Front Office Sports reported.

Plans changed after Craig Tiley took over as USTA CEO on July 20. Tiley played a major role in pushing for an agreement covering the 2026 tournament, according to the report.

One source told Front Office Sports that the arrangement would prevent competing prediction market companies from advertising at the US Open venue and across television coverage of the tournament, including ESPN broadcasts.

The agreement had not yet been fully reflected across the organizations’ public materials when the main draw started Sunday. Kalshi was absent from the US Open’s official partner list as of Sunday afternoon.

A Kalshi blog post published earlier that day analyzing the women’s singles tournament still carried a disclaimer saying the company was “not affiliated with the U.S. Open or WTA,” according to Front Office Sports.

Kalshi already offers a large number of contracts tied to US Open matches. Its tennis markets on Sunday included individual men’s and women’s singles matches, with some contracts recording more than $1 million in trading volume.

The US Open agreement expands a sports strategy that has increasingly put prediction market platforms alongside leagues, teams and major events.

In June, crypto.news previously reported that Kalshi had secured World Cup branding exposure through a partnership with ADI Predictstreet, FIFA’s official prediction market partner for the 2026 tournament. The arrangement placed Kalshi branding alongside ADI Predictstreet across stadium, television and digital coverage beginning with the knockout stage.

Sports partnerships have spread across the prediction market industry. Kalshi and Polymarket have partnerships with the NHL, while Polymarket has worked with Major League Baseball and the New York Yankees. Kalshi has separately announced relationships with MLB clubs including the Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.

Novig has moved into the same market through a partnership with the New York Mets, becoming the first prediction market platform to sign an individual MLB team.

Sports contracts drive Kalshi’s expansion

Sports have become a central source of trading activity for Kalshi as the platform expands beyond the political and economic event contracts that helped prediction markets gain attention.

The company’s sports strategy was particularly visible during the FIFA World Cup. Weekly Kalshi trading volume reached a record $5.1 billion in June as activity tied to the tournament increased, while sports-related contracts had become its largest product category, according to previous coverage.

Kalshi has developed compliance systems alongside the expansion. Its sports-market surveillance includes IC360 screening and a prohibited-persons system designed to identify athletes, coaches, referees and league personnel who should not trade certain contracts. The company has paired those controls with its proprietary Poirot detection engine and Solidus Labs’ HALO surveillance platform, as detailed in crypto.news’ examination of prediction market surveillance in July.

The commercial push has continued while courts consider whether sports event contracts offered on federally regulated prediction markets can remain outside state gambling regimes.

Kalshi faces conflicting rulings over sports contracts

Two days before the US Open partnership emerged, Kalshi suffered a setback in its dispute with Nevada gaming regulators.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Aug. 28 that Kalshi had not shown that the Commodity Exchange Act was likely to preempt Nevada gaming regulations as applied to its sports event contracts. The three-judge panel affirmed in part a lower court order dissolving a preliminary injunction that had prevented Nevada from enforcing its laws against Kalshi.

Nevada’s Gaming Control Board had sent Kalshi a cease-and-desist letter alleging that it was operating a sports betting platform in violation of state laws and gaming regulations.

Kalshi argued that it operates as a designated contract market under the Commodity Exchange Act and that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission therefore has exclusive authority over its sports contracts.

The Ninth Circuit rejected Kalshi’s request for preliminary protection from Nevada enforcement. Its ruling found that the sports event contracts at issue did not qualify as swaps under the relevant Commodity Exchange Act definition because they were sports bets. The court remanded issues involving Kalshi’s election contracts to the district court for further consideration.

The decision came after Kalshi and Polymarket had already lost separate efforts connected with state gambling enforcement. In May, a Ninth Circuit panel denied emergency motions involving disputes in Nevada and Washington, finding that a Commodity Exchange Act preemption defense did not by itself establish federal jurisdiction.

Kalshi received a different result in the Third Circuit, which previously upheld preliminary relief preventing New Jersey regulators from enforcing state gambling laws against its sports contracts. The court found Kalshi had demonstrated a reasonable chance of succeeding on its argument that the contracts were swaps covered by federal derivatives law.

New York has produced another unfavorable ruling for the company. A federal judge in July rejected Kalshi’s injunction bid, leaving the state’s gambling-law claims against its sports event contracts in place while the litigation proceeds.

State and local challenges have continued during August. Baltimore sued Kalshi and Polymarket on Aug. 13 over alleged unlicensed sports betting, with the Kalshi complaint naming Coinbase, Robinhood and Webull because the platforms distribute its event contracts to their customers.

Baltimore alleged that contracts covering game winners, point spreads and player performances operate like sports wagers without the licenses and consumer protections required under state law. Kalshi rejected that characterization and maintained that its federal regulatory status permits it to offer the contracts.

The city is seeking statutory penalties, customer restitution and disgorgement of proceeds it alleges came from unlawful activity, along with an order preventing the companies from offering unauthorized sports betting to Baltimore residents.