Nine US Companies Object to Tokenized Trading of Their Shares on OKXICE

Nine US-listed companies have objected to tokenized versions of their shares trading on OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange. A public notice dated Thursday lists Cerebras Systems, AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, Verizon, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom and UnitedHealth Group, without giving reasons.

Applied Optoelectronics told the Wall Street Journal it was unsure how tokenization would affect its price, liquidity and volatility, and worried investors could be confused about its role in an offering it did not endorse. Eight of the nine were among 63 tickers OKXICE named on Oct. 4. Cerebras was not. OKXICE says it still plans to launch trading for dozens of companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart. Co-chair Andrew Cuomo said he expects companies to be skeptical and called the venue a first step.

How the SEC Innovation Exemption Works

OKXICE will operate under a five-year SEC order issued Sept. 17 that lets tokenized securities venues trade tokenized US stocks without registering as exchanges. When a third party tokenizes a stock, the venue must notify the company at least 30 days before trading starts, and the company then has 30 days to object. A timely objection blocks that venue from offering the token, but silence allows the listing to go ahead. Each new venue starts its own clock. The venue will run permissioned pools on X Layer, pairing each stock with USDC, USDG or USDT, and traders must pass identity checks and hold a soulbound token. No launch date was given.

Nasdaq, AMC and the Tokenized Stock Market

Nasdaq said it will opt out of tokenization of its own shares under the framework because it does not want them trading on a venue that fails to show best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape, though it remains committed to tokenization. AMC separately attacked Robinhood’s stock tokens, which Robinhood calls a marketing stunt. Morgan Stanley expects to support tokenized equities in the first quarter of 2027. The value of tokenized stocks reached about $3.5 billion as of Oct. 15, up from about $680 million at the start of the year.