Nine Issuers Move to Keep Shares Off OKXICE’s 24/7 Tokens
Nine issuers have formally objected to OKXICE’s tokenized share plan, according to an Oct. 15 public notice from OKXICE—the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The Wall Street Journal first reported on the notice.
Who objected
OKXICE’s filing lists nine companies that submitted issuer objections: Cerebras Systems (CBRS), Applovin (APP), Applied Digital (APLD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), Coreweave (CRWV), Verizon (VZ), Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), Broadcom (AVGO), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH).
Why it matters
OKXICE plans a venue where investors could trade digital versions of U.S. stocks 24/7. Under its proposal, a third party would hold actual company shares through a registered broker‑dealer, and each token would represent an entitlement to one underlying share, including associated dividend and voting rights, per OKXICE’s notice.
The Securities and Exchange Commission granted temporary exemptive relief that includes an issuer‑objection mechanism. Companies can object to having their shares tokenized by an unaffiliated third party, potentially keeping those securities out of OKXICE’s trading pools. That makes the nine objections a practical hurdle for the venue’s planned offerings, as described in the Oct. 15 notice.
How the market would work
OKXICE—owned equally by ICE and OKC USA Holding Inc., per the notice—outlined a model that replaces a traditional order book with permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain. Investors would trade tokenized shares against stablecoins including USDC, USDT, and USDG. Participation would require identity verification and an approved digital wallet, and the platform would operate under temporary SEC exemptive relief rather than conventional exchange registration.
What’s not in the filing
The Oct. 15 notice does not explain why the nine issuers objected, nor does it indicate whether they oppose tokenization in general. It also does not specify whether the objections are permanent or how long they might restrict inclusion of the companies’ shares in OKXICE’s trading pools.