OKX and ICE Move Forward with Tokenized US Equities Platform

OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, have taken a major step toward launching tokenized US equities through their joint venture, OKXICE LLC. The company filed a notice with the SEC on October 4, listing 63 proposed stock symbols, including tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla, as well as crypto-related firms such as Coinbase, Circle, and BitGo.

Andrew Cuomo, co-chair of OKXICE, described the filing as a landmark move toward a global, 24/7 trading system for US equities. The platform will operate under the SEC’s newly created innovation exemption, offering tokenized shares that carry the same rights as traditional stocks, including dividends and voting rights. Companies have 30 days to object to the tokenization of their shares, and Cerebras Systems is the first to do so.

Tokenized securities on the proposed venue will rely on automated market makers and liquidity pools rather than traditional brokerage structures. OKXICE’s setup uses permissioned Uniswap v4 pools built on XLayer, pairing each tokenized stock with stablecoins like USD Coin (USDC), Global Dollar (USDG), or Tether (USDT). The SEC’s temporary innovation exemption provides a five-year runway for regulators to decide whether to make it permanent.

While the filing is a significant milestone, OKXICE still needs to clear additional regulatory hurdles, including broker-dealer and futures commission merchant registrations, before launching commercially. This move marks OKX’s first foray into on-chain security token offerings with full shareholder rights in the US market. Other exchanges, including NYSE, Nasdaq, and the London Stock Exchange, are also preparing similar round-the-clock trading systems.