Nine U.S.-listed companies have raised objections to the tokenized trading of their shares on OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange. The companies, Cerebras Systems (CBRS), AppLovin (APP), Applied Digital (APLD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), CoreWeave (CRWV), Verizon (VZ), Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), Broadcom (AVGO), and UnitedHealth Group (UNH), filed their objections in a public notice dated Thursday. Applied Optoelectronics cited concerns over potential impacts on stock price, liquidity, and volatility, as well as the risk of investor confusion. The company also saw no clear benefit to justify the uncertainty.
OKXICE plans to launch trading for dozens of other U.S.-listed companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase, and Walmart. The venue operates under the SEC's innovation exemption, which allows tokenized securities venues to trade tokenized versions of U.S.-listed stocks without registering as exchanges. Companies have 30 days to object after being notified, and objections bar the venue from offering the stock token.
Nasdaq has also opted out of having its own shares tokenized under the SEC's framework, citing concerns about real-time price display and consolidated tape reporting. The exchange remains committed to tokenization but argues that trading outside the national market system could lead to price and transparency issues. Citadel Securities has raised similar concerns about a potential 'shadow' U.S. equity market.
The value of tokenized stocks has surged to about $3.5 billion as of October 15, up from $680 million at the start of the year. OKXICE will run permissioned liquidity pools on X Layer, a layer-2 network, with each stock paired against USDC, USDG, or USDT. Traders must pass identity and sanctions screening and hold a non-transferable 'soulbound' token to access the pools.