Nine Big Companies Say No to Tokenized Stock Trading — Broadcom, Verizon and UnitedHealth Opt Out of OKX-ICE Venue
A new plan to trade tokenized versions of US stocks has hit its first big test. OKXICE, a joint venture between crypto firm OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, has disclosed that nine companies have objected to having their shares included on its proposed tokenized securities venue. The objections remove about 14% of the 63 stocks the venture planned to offer at launch.
The opt-outs come through a process set by the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Last month the SEC issued an innovation exemption that allows qualifying platforms to offer tokenized versions of traditional stocks. These tokens trade on a blockchain, much like crypto, but they represent real company shares and are meant to carry the same dividend and governance rights. Under the exemption, a venue must first post a public notice, and each listed company gets a chance to object to being included.
Cerebras Systems was the first objector named when the notice was posted. By Friday the list had grown to nine, adding AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, Verizon Communications, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom and UnitedHealth Group. Applied Optoelectronics explained its decision in its own summary of concerns: the framework is new, the effect on its share price, liquidity and volatility is uncertain, and it sees no clear benefit for the company or its shareholders at this stage. It also did not want investors to think it had endorsed the venue. The other companies did not immediately comment.
Some resistance was expected inside the venture itself. OKXICE co-chair Andrew Cuomo said earlier this month that a transition period is likely, with some companies joining quickly and others waiting to see how the market develops. A separate caution came from Nasdaq, which in a public FAQ urged issuers to think about whether such venues could weaken transparent price discovery, fair access to market data and other safeguards of the traditional stock market. Nasdaq's own shares were never on the OKXICE list.
For traders, the opt-outs shrink the starting line-up of one retail-facing venue, but they do not stop tokenization itself. Other projects that do not need issuer permission are moving ahead, including a Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. effort backed by an SEC staff no-action letter, focused mainly on letting institutions turn shares into tokens and move them almost instantly, around the clock, after trades. Demand is also visible onchain, where tokenized equities are now worth about $3.3 billion and most tokenized stock volume on some chains happens outside regular US market hours. The push to trade stocks like crypto is still growing — it is just meeting its first real negotiation with the companies behind the shares.
This post is news only, not financial advice. Always do your own research before buying or selling crypto.
Sources: Barron's, Cointelegraph, CryptoCompass
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