OKXICE sets Nov. 23 tokenized securities launch despite objections

By Marcus Bennett

OKXICE will launch its tokenized securities platform on Nov. 23 for eligible U.S. customers under a five-year SEC exemption, despite objections from 67 companies, according to the venture’s announcement and a Nov. 5 public notice.

The joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange’s parent, confirmed the date Wednesday, Nov. 11. More than 70 assets, including 59 exchange-traded funds, have been confirmed for the platform. Issuers including Coinbase, Circle and Robinhood are participating in the offering. The announcement did not establish that every confirmed asset would be available on day one.

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who serves as OKXICE co-chair, said: “The future of finance is onchain, and we have an opportunity to build it here in America, with the standards, safeguards and ambition that investors expect.”

What changes for eligible traders?

For eligible traders, the practical change is a new execution route. OKXICE plans round-the-clock trading of tokenized U.S. securities for customers who complete onboarding and hold a CeDeFi Wallet. Identity and compliance checks are mandatory, and the platform also requires approved wallets.

Execution will run through permissioned liquidity pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain. Automated market makers will execute transactions instead of a conventional stock-exchange order book. Under the proposed structure, blockchain-based tokens represent the underlying securities.

The SEC framework

The platform will operate under the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s Sept. 17 exemption order. It established a temporary framework for certain tokenized securities venues. The five-year innovation exemption allows qualifying operators to facilitate trading without registering as national securities exchanges under the usual definition.

It covers tokenized U.S. stocks traded through approved automated liquidity pools. Participant verification, trading restrictions and investor protections condition access. Unlike synthetic products that merely track share prices, eligible tokenized stocks must represent securities with rights attached to the underlying shares. Qualifying venues cannot extend credit to customers purchasing the stocks.

Earlier this month, Canton Strategic completed transactions involving its own tokenized common shares under the exemption. The Nov. 4 transactions named Five North as seller, DRW Cumberland as buyer and Flowdesk as liquidity provider. The securities were issued through an arrangement involving Canton Strategic.

Corporate resistance

The planned launch follows several weeks of objections from publicly traded companies. They do not want unaffiliated third parties to offer blockchain-based versions of their shares on the venue.

OKXICE’s Nov. 5 public notice lists 67 objectors. They include Meta, Tesla, Netflix, Costco and Home Depot, alongside other major technology and consumer businesses.

The total rose from 50 in October, according to crypto.news, after objections from Nvidia, Nike, Reddit and other listed companies. By Nov. 2, it had reached 56. Amazon, Tesla and SpaceX appeared in that updated disclosure.

The SEC framework gives issuers 30 calendar days after notification to object to an unaffiliated third party tokenizing their shares on a particular venue. A timely objection prevents that venue from offering the affected securities under the exemption.

That objection does not prevent companies from pursuing other tokenization arrangements. Applied Optoelectronics previously told The Wall Street Journal it was concerned about potential effects on share prices, liquidity and volatility. It questioned whether investors might mistakenly believe the company was involved in, or supported, the tokenized offering.

Nasdaq’s alternative

Nasdaq plans to exclude its own shares from trading under the SEC exemption. In a Barron’s opinion article published Tuesday, Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer John Zecca argued that tokenized securities should preserve shareholder rights and give issuers meaningful control over how their shares are represented.

Zecca focused on securities trading outside the National Market System. He warned that separating tokenized trading from those systems could fragment the market. The NMS provides established market-reporting and transparency requirements.

Nasdaq is pursuing a different structure through a partnership with Kraken parent Payward. The company agreed to invest $100 million in September. The partnership covers tokenized equities, market surveillance and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure. Nasdaq Equity Tokens is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2027.

The next checkpoint is Nov. 23, when OKXICE plans to begin round-the-clock trading under an exemption that allows certain tokenized venues to operate without national securities exchange registration.