Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) announces that it is making a strategic investment in tZERO, a leader in blockchain innovation and liquidity for digital assets.

In connection with ICE’s investment in tZERO, David Goone, a longtime member of ICE’s management team and currently ICE’s Chief Strategy Officer, will join tZERO as its next Chief Executive Officer and will serve on tZERO’s Board of Directors.

Goone, who joined ICE in 2001, will continue to serve ICE and its Chairman and CEO, Jeff Sprecher, in a consulting capacity.

During his tenure at ICE, Goone developed and managed many of the company’s product lines and oversaw ICE Benchmark Administration, which has administered LIBOR and the global gold and silver fixings. He has served on many of ICE’s subsidiary exchange boards and represents ICE on several industry boards, including the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation (DTCC), Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), and the National Futures Association (NFA). Goone also served as Vice Chairman of CETIP S.A. until its merger with B3 exchange in Brazil.

tZERO, through a wholly owned subsidiary, operates an SEC-regulated alternative trading system (ATS) and broker-dealer in the digital asset space, and is a technology firm with the goal of democratizing access to capital markets. tZERO brings together issuers and financial firms seeking a transparent, automated, digitally enabled marketplace and investors seeking access to unique private assets, public equities, cryptocurrencies, and other digital assets, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Terms of ICE’s investment in tZERO, which will make ICE a significant minority shareholder in tZERO, are not being disclosed, and the financial impact of the transaction will not be material to ICE or impact ICE’s capital return plans. Other participants in tZERO’s fundraising round include Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK), an original investor in tZERO, and Medici Ventures, L.P., a blockchain-focused fund whose general partner is an entity affiliated with Pelion Venture Partners, among others.