Fifty publicly traded companies have now objected to having their shares tokenized on OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange.
Summary
- Fifty companies have objected to having their shares tokenized and traded on OKXICE, according to its October 30 notice.
- Nvidia, Nike, Costco, Micron and Reddit are among 12 companies added since the October 28 disclosure.
- The list has grown from 26 objectors on October 26 to 50, as companies exercise their rights under SEC rules.
- A timely objection prevents unaffiliated third-party tokens of the company’s shares from trading on OKXICE under the exemption.
- OKXICE plans to offer tokenized stocks around the clock through permissioned liquidity pools on XLayer.
According to the venue’s October 30 public notice, Nvidia, Nike, Costco, Micron and Reddit are among the latest companies to oppose the proposed trading arrangement. The list grew from 38 issuers on October 28, adding 12 objections in two days.
Journalist Eleanor Terrett reported the updated count on November 1. OKXICE had initially identified 62 companies represented by 63 stock symbols for potential tokenization, although some subsequent objectors were not on that original list.
Nvidia and Nike join growing opposition to OKXICE
The latest objections bring several major technology, retail and industrial companies into an increasingly crowded group of issuers rejecting the proposed trading venue.
Alongside Nvidia, Micron, Nike, Costco and Reddit, the October 30 additions include CrowdStrike, Corning, IREN, USA Rare Earth, Bloom Energy, Palo Alto Networks and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Earlier objections came from Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, AMD, Intel and Walmart.
Just four days earlier, the venue had recorded 26 objections. Another seven appeared in its October 27 notice, followed by five on October 28 and 12 in the latest filing.
The new total means 24 additional companies have objected since October 26.
The companies have not provided individual explanations in OKXICE’s public notice, which lists their names and stock symbols.
As crypto.news reported earlier this week, the objections have emerged alongside allegations that Nasdaq representatives encouraged listed companies to oppose the venture.
Nasdaq declined to comment directly on those claims. Its spokesperson separately described the exchange’s preference for an issuer-led approach to tokenization within existing market structures.
SEC rules allow issuers to block third-party stock tokens
The objections carry consequences under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s temporary trading exemption, introduced on September 17.
According to the SEC’s published order, a venue must notify the underlying company before offering shares tokenized by an unaffiliated third party.
Issuers have 30 calendar days after receiving that notice to submit a written objection. If they object within the permitted period, the venue cannot offer those tokenized shares under the exemption.
OKXICE must therefore exclude securities covered by valid objections from its proposed third-party trading arrangement.
The restriction applies specifically to the venue and the unaffiliated tokenization model. It does not prevent a company from supporting tokenization elsewhere or issuing its own tokenized shares.
In previous coverage of issuer objections, the distinction became central as companies began rejecting unauthorized versions of their publicly traded stock.
The SEC requires the tokenized securities covered by its exemption to preserve the economic and ownership rights attached to ordinary shares.
These include dividends, voting rights and claims on company assets. The underlying shares must be held through appropriate custody arrangements and backed one-for-one.
OKX-ICE plans round-the-clock tokenized stock trading
The disputed venue is operated by OKXICE LLC, a Texas company owned equally by Intercontinental Exchange Holdings and OKC USA Holding.
Its proposed system would use permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on OKX’s XLayer blockchain.
Approved investors could exchange tokenized shares against payment stablecoins such as USDC and USDG, with trading available 24 hours a day.
Unlike conventional stock exchanges, the venue would not operate an order book. Prices would come from the assets held in individual liquidity pools.
Before trading, participants must complete identity checks, sanctions screening and wallet verification. Authorized wallets receive a nontransferable credential that controls access.
The original tokenized stock proposal described a system in which an authorized tokenizer holds ordinary shares through a registered broker-dealer before issuing corresponding blockchain tokens.
The October 30 notice states that OKXICE itself will not issue the tokenized securities or take custody of customer assets.
It further warns that trading prices could differ from the underlying shares, particularly outside regular exchange hours when liquidity may be limited.
Nasdaq pursues a separate tokenization model
Nasdaq has been developing its own stock tokenization arrangements while opposing the use of the SEC exemption for its proposed venue structure.
The exchange has said it intends to work with Kraken on an issuer-centered tokenization model targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
Meanwhile, the SEC’s temporary exemption allows qualifying venues to operate without registering as traditional exchanges for the specified activities, subject to regulatory oversight and trading limits.
Under those limits, Tier 1 securities face a daily volume ceiling of 0.25% of the underlying stock’s previous monthly average daily volume. Tier 2 securities have a 2.5% ceiling.
OKXICE’s public notice says trading in tokenized shares must stop whenever the corresponding stock is halted on its primary exchange.
The venue has not announced a confirmed launch date for its proposed U.S. trading service.
Other Articles
TechCrunch Mobility: A new, bigger AV boom is here
No Comment! Be the first one.