Broadcom, Verizon among 9 firms blocking OKXICE stock tokens
Nine US-listed companies, including CoreWeave, Broadcom and Verizon, objected to tokenized trading of their shares on OKXICE; Nasdaq says it will opt out too.
CryptoGroup Newsroom · · 3 min read
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Nine US-listed companies have used their right to say no to tokenized trading of their shares on OKXICE, the joint venture of crypto exchange OKX and NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange. A public notice from the venue, dated Thursday, lists the objections without explaining them, The Block reported on Saturday. It is the first visible pushback from issuers under the SEC's new framework for on-chain stocks.
Who objected
- The nine: Cerebras Systems, AppLovin, Applied Digital, Rocket Lab, CoreWeave, Verizon, Applied Optoelectronics, Broadcom and UnitedHealth Group.
- Eight of them were among the 63 tickers OKXICE said on 4 October it planned to offer; Cerebras was not on that list.
- Applied Optoelectronics told The Wall Street Journal it was unsure how tokenization would affect its share price, liquidity and volatility, worried investors might think it backed an offering it never sponsored, and saw no clear benefit for the company or its shareholders.
- Nasdaq said in an FAQ that it will opt out of having its own shares tokenized under the framework, because it does not want its stock on a venue that does not show best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape. It says it still supports tokenization.
OKXICE told the Journal it still intends to list dozens of large companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart. Co-chair Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, said he expects companies to be sceptical at first.
How the venue would work
According to its notice, OKXICE will run permissioned liquidity pools on X Layer, OKX's layer-2 network, pairing each stock token with USDC, USDG or USDT. Traders must pass identity and sanctions checks and hold a non-transferable "soulbound" token to get in. No launch date has been given. A second firm, Perpetuals.com, has filed for a similar venue, while offshore products such as Binance's bStocks already hold more than $1 billion. The Block's data put all tokenized stocks at about $3.5 billion on 15 October, up from roughly $680 million in January.
New to the topic? Our explainer what are tokenized stocks covers the basics.
Frequently asked questions
Why can companies block OKXICE?
Under the SEC's five-year innovation exemption issued on 17 September, a venue that tokenizes a company's shares without the company's involvement must notify it at least 30 days before trading. The company then has 30 days to object, and a timely objection bars that venue from offering the token.
Does an objection ban the stock from all tokenized venues?
No. According to law-firm summaries cited by The Block, an objection applies only to the venue that sent the notice. Each new venue starts its own 30-day clock, and a company that stays silent can be listed.
Did the nine companies explain their decision?
The OKXICE notice gives no reasons. Only Applied Optoelectronics has explained itself publicly, citing uncertainty about price, liquidity and volatility and the risk of investor confusion.
When will OKXICE start trading?
The venue has not announced a launch date. It notified the SEC of its plans on 4 October.
This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile; do your own research. Read our disclaimer
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