Andrew Cuomo says blockchain can cut banking fees for working families

EXCLUSIVE — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is taking aim at both legacy financial institutions and Washington gridlock, warning that the U.S. is wasting time on a technology that could significantly lower costs for working-class families.

Speaking exclusively with Fox News Digital about his new role as co-chair of a joint venture between fintech company OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Cuomo detailed how a shift toward blockchain technology could help reduce costs for consumers by limiting reliance on traditional banking intermediaries.

“This provides basic financial services, you have an account, you can pay bills, you can transfer money. And you don’t have to deal with the traditional banking establishment, minimum requirements,” Cuomo told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “There are benefits across the board.”

“This is something that has been percolating for a long time, gestating, working through the tension that was first present between these companies and the traditional finance companies. We’ve now come to a general recognition that it has to be collaboration rather than competition,” he continued.

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Cuomo argues that crypto is the latest chapter in America’s financial evolution. Much like the 1929 stock market crash helped lead to the creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Enron scandal prompted corporate reforms, crypto’s early days are forcing a shift toward greater oversight. As co-chair of OKX and Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) efforts to build regulated digital markets, Cuomo said his goal is to merge Wall Street’s compliance framework with crypto’s 24/7 technology capabilities to tokenize mainstream equities and futures.

Andrew Cuomo, former New York governor, speaks during an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. (Getty Images)

“When it first started, it was, ‘crypto was controversial,’” Cuomo pointed out, “but it was never about crypto. It was about the blockchain technology. And I think that’s what people missed for a lot of years. They got caught up in crypto and didn’t understand the potential of the blockchain.“

“The SEC, obviously, is going to have to change with the times, but the blockchain will be so much more time efficient and cost-efficient. You don’t need the intermediaries. Literally, you could trade directly, and it can be a 24/7 market, and it can be a global market,” he added.

He also addressed the frustration of the average middle-class family that feels pocketbook pain from legacy banking institutions, ATM fees and slow transaction times. By expanding blockchain access…