50 listed companies have now raised objections to the tokenization and trading of their stocks on OKXICE. OKXICE is a joint venture project between the crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (Intercontinental Exchange), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.

According to a public announcement on October 30th by that trading venue, NVIDIA, Nike, Costco, Micron, and Reddit are among the latest companies to oppose the proposed transaction arrangement. The list has continued to expand from the 38 issuers disclosed on October 28th, with 12 additional objections added within two days.

Reporter Eleanor Terrett reported this updated number on November 1st. OKXICE initially identified 62 companies, with a total of 63 stock codes, as potential candidates for tokenization. However, some of the companies that later raised objections were not on the initial list.

NVIDIA and Nike join the opposition camp against OKXICE

The latest objections have drawn several large technology, retail, and industrial companies into the increasingly crowded ranks of opponents, who refuse this proposed exchange venue.

In addition to NVIDIA, Micron, Nike, Costco, and Reddit, the companies that joined on October 30th also include CrowdStrike, Corning, IREN, USA Rare Earth, Bloom Energy, Palo Alto Networks, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

Companies that previously raised objections included Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, AMD, Intel, and Walmart.

Just four days ago, the number of objections recorded at that trading venue was only 26. Subsequently, in the announcement on October 27th, another 7 objections were reported, and on October 28th, the number increased by 5 more. In the latest document, another 12 objections were added.

This means that since October 26th, another 24 companies have raised objections.

These companies did not provide individual reasons in the public announcements of OKXICE; the announcements only listed the company names and stock codes.

As reported by crypto.news earlier this week, at the time these objections emerged, there were also allegations in the market that representatives from NASDAQ encouraged listed companies to oppose the joint venture project.

Nasdaq did not comment directly on these statements. A spokesperson stated otherwise, indicating that the exchange prefers to adopt an issuer-led tokenization approach within the existing market structure.

The SEC rule allows issuers to prevent third-party stock tokens.

These objections have practical implications under the temporary trading exemption framework introduced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on September 17.

According to the command published by SEC, before trading venues start trading on stocks that have been tokenized by unrelated third parties, they must notify the relevant companies first.

The issuer has 30 calendar days to submit a written objection after receiving the notice. If an objection is raised within the permitted time limit, the trading venue shall not provide trading for these tokenized shares in accordance with this exemption.

Therefore, OKXICE must exclude the securities covered by valid objections from its proposed third-party transaction arrangements.

This restriction is specifically applicable to this trading venue and its unrelated tokenization model, and it does not prevent the company from supporting tokenization in other places or from issuing its own tokenized stocks.

In previous reports regarding the issuer's objections, this distinction became particularly crucial as the company began to refuse unauthorized public trading of stock versions.

According to the requirements of SEC, tokenized securities that are exempted under its provisions must retain the economic rights and ownership rights associated with ordinary shares.

These rights include dividends, voting rights, and the right to claim a portion of the company's assets. Basic shares must be held through appropriate custodial arrangements and require one-to-one support.

OKX-ICE Plans for 24/7 Tokenized Stock Trading

This controversial trading venue is operated by OKXICE LLC, a company based in Texas, with Intercontinental Exchange Holdings and OKC USA Holding each holding half of the shares.

The proposed system will utilize a licensed Uniswap v4 liquidity pool that is deployed on the XLayer blockchain located at OKX.

Approved investors can use stablecoins such as USDC and USDG to exchange for tokenized stocks, and the trading will provide 24-hour uninterrupted service.

Unlike traditional stock exchanges, this trading venue does not operate an order book; prices will come from the assets held in various liquidity pools.

Before conducting a transaction, participants must complete identity verification, sanctions screening, and wallet validation. Authorized wallets will receive an non-transferable token used to control access rights.

The initial tokenized stock scheme described a mechanism in which authorized tokenization institutions first held ordinary shares through registered brokerage dealers, and then issued corresponding blockchain tokens.

The announcement on October 30 stated that OKXICE itself will not issue these tokenized securities, nor will it manage customer assets.

The announcement also warns that the trading price may differ from the underlying stock price, especially outside of regular trading hours when liquidity may be limited.

Nasdaq Advances Another Tokenization Model

Nasdaq has been developing its own stock tokenization arrangements, while opposing the exemption of SEC from its proposed trading venue structure.

The exchange stated that it plans to collaborate with Kraken to advance a tokenization model centered around the issuer, with a target timeline for the second quarter of 2027.

At the same time, the temporary exemption for SEC allows eligible trading venues to carry out specific activities without registering as traditional exchanges, but they must accept regulatory oversight and comply with trading restrictions.

Under these restrictions, the daily trading volume limit for primary securities is 0.25% of the average daily trading volume of their underlying stocks from the previous month; for secondary securities, the limit is 2.5%.

According to the public announcement of OKXICE, once the corresponding stock is suspended from trading on the main exchange, the trading of its tokenized stock must also cease.

The trading venue has not yet announced the confirmed launch date for its proposed US trading services.