Tokenised stock venue faces issuer objections as SEC exemption draws scrutiny

A joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, is facing objections from several of the companies whose shares it plans to trade in tokenised form, according to an October 15 public notice from the venture, OKXICE.

The notice names Broadcom, Verizon, UnitedHealth, AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab, CoreWeave and Applied Optoelectronics among the objecting issuers, alongside AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems, which had earlier formally opted out of being listed. It lists nine objecting issuers in total. The notice did not disclose the companies' reasons for objecting or when they submitted their notices.

Nasdaq has separately said it would opt out of having its own shares tokenised under the framework, according to an FAQ on its website. A Nasdaq spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the company does not want its shares trading on a venue that does not display best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape, which aggregates stock-market trading data. Nasdaq is not among the nine issuers named in OKXICE's notice.

OKXICE announced on October 5 that it had notified the US Securities and Exchange Commission of plans to launch the venue, initially targeting shares of 63 US-listed companies. Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the venture's co-chair, announced the move on X. The venue would operate under the SEC's five-year Innovation Exemption, issued September 17, which allows qualifying platforms to trade tokenised US stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. OKXICE plans to operate around the clock using Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX's XLayer blockchain, with trades settled in stablecoins. Under the model described in its notice, underlying shares would be held one-for-one against outstanding tokens through a registered broker-dealer, and token holders must receive equivalent rights, including dividends and voting rights.

The pushback echoes findings from TD Securities analysts led by Reid Noch, vice president of US equity market structure. Conversations with dozens of issuers showed "little interest in tokenizing their shares outside a small group of crypto-adjacent companies," the analysts wrote in a report shared with CoinDesk, adding that several issuers approached the firm with significant concerns after discovering the framework, having been unaware of it when it was announced. TD Securities named the framework's reliance on temporary exemptive relief, rather than permanent rules, as its largest hurdle, warning that a future commission could reverse the approach and discourage institutions from integrating with venues even after they launch.