OKXICE and ICE Plan 24/7 Tokenized Stock Trading Under SEC Exemption

OKXICE, a joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has announced plans to launch a 24/7 trading venue for tokenized U.S. stocks. The venture filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the new Innovation Exemption, which allows qualifying venues to trade tokenized stocks without registering as exchanges. The notice, dated October 4, 2026, lists tokenized versions of over 60 U.S.-listed stocks, including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, and SpaceX, as well as crypto-linked firms like Coinbase, Circle, and Robinhood.

The tokenized stocks will trade against stablecoins USDC, USDG, or Tether's USDT. Trades will occur on permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools via XLayer, a layer-2 blockchain, with a custom smart contract verifying each transaction. Only wallets holding a non-transferable soulbound token, issued after identity and compliance checks, can participate in trading or supply liquidity.

Chipmaker Cerebras Systems has already objected to the venue, exercising its right under the exemption to block the tokenization of its shares. The exemption allows third parties to tokenize shares without the issuer's involvement but requires a 30-day objection period. The notice does not specify a launch date or name the third-party entity responsible for tokenizing the stocks.

The SEC's Innovation Exemption, issued on September 17, 2026, aims to bridge the gap toward permanent rulemaking. The exemption has sparked debate, with some arguing it could intensify competition between DeFi platforms and traditional exchanges. Andrew Cuomo, co-chair of OKXICE, called the filing a "landmark step toward a truly global, 24/7 Wall Street."