OKXICE Faces Objections To 57 Of 63 Stock Tickers

OKXICE faces objections to 57 of the 63 stock tickers proposed for its blockchain-based marketplace, including Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla and Meta. The proposed venue also faces a liquidity challenge: existing tokenized-equity pools held a median of $92 as of Aug. 31.

The number of companies objecting to the proposed listings rose to 67 on Nov. 5, from 50 on Oct. 30 and 62 on Nov. 4. Meta, Palantir, S&P Global, KLA and Super Micro Computer joined the list on Nov. 5.

OKXICE is a joint venture equally owned by the U.S. holding company of crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. It plans to let investors trade blockchain-based versions of U.S. stocks around the clock using stablecoins.

The original proposal covered 63 tickers because Alphabet’s two share classes were listed separately. Six companies from the initial group have no disclosed objections: Strategy, Coinbase, Robinhood, Circle, Securitize and BitGo. Their lack of an objection does not mean they have endorsed the plan or that their shares will be available when trading begins.

The objections followed a regulatory exemption introduced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September. The framework allows qualifying platforms to offer certain tokenized securities through automated trading pools. It requires companies to receive written notice and an opportunity to object when unaffiliated third parties tokenize their shares. A formal objection prevents a platform from offering those shares through the exemption.

The objections do not necessarily represent opposition to tokenized securities in general. The SEC framework allows companies to support their own tokenization arrangements. OKXICE has not said whether any issuer-backed products will be included.

OKXICE has not set a launch date or confirmed how many stocks will ultimately be available. Its website describes the trading venue as forthcoming.

The proposed marketplace would use Uniswap v4-based pools on OKX’s XLayer blockchain. Investors would trade tokenized shares against stablecoins through approved wallets. Outside market makers and institutional investors would be expected to deposit stock tokens and stablecoins into the pools.

Unlike a conventional stock exchange, which matches buy and sell orders through an order book, the proposed system would use deposited assets to execute trades. OKXICE and its affiliates have said they will not provide liquidity, leaving independent participants to finance the pools.

An Aug. 31 snapshot of existing tokenized-equity markets found 5,484 pools holding $69 million in assets. The median pool balance was $92. Only 78 pools held more than $100,000, accounting for about $56 million, or 81% of the measured holdings.

The assets were concentrated across a small number of protocols, including $34 million on Uniswap, $17 million on PancakeSwap and $11 million on Raydium. Low pool liquidity can increase the difference between expected and executed prices, particularly for large orders or sales during periods of market volatility.