OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange’s parent, plan to open a tokenized stock venue on Nov. 23 despite written objections from 67 companies, including every member of the “Magnificent Seven.” Their joint venture, OKXICE, expects to offer more than 70 assets to eligible U.S. customers. Fifty-nine are exchange-traded funds from Direxion. The objections have shaped the lineup: crypto-linked public companies are supplying prominent names while the biggest tech stocks sit out.
How 67 objections shaped the Nov. 23 lineup
OKXICE expects to list securities from Coinbase, Circle, Robinhood, Strategy, BitGo, Securitize and Better.com. Strategy also plans to list preferred shares. Coinbase, Robinhood and Strategy were absent from OKXICE’s Nov. 5 list of companies that had objected.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption lets a venue trade tokenized versions of U.S. shares through automated market makers without registering as an exchange under the exemption’s terms. When an unaffiliated party seeks to tokenize a company’s stock, the company has 30 days after notification to object in writing. OKXICE published two counts of companies that had used that option:
- Oct. 30: OKXICE listed 50 companies that had objected.
- Nov. 5: The list had grown to 67, including Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta and Tesla.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, an OKXICE co-chair, described the exemption as an opportunity for U.S. markets:
The SEC has created a real opening for American markets to lead the next era of finance.
Andrew Cuomo, OKXICE co-chair
The exemption permits OKXICE to open a venue, while an issuer’s written objection can keep third-party tokens tied to its shares off that venue. The planned offerings include securities from companies active in crypto and Direxion’s funds. The funds account for 59 of the more than 70 assets OKXICE expects to offer.
How a token represents a share on OKXICE
Securitize will provide the system that turns share entitlements into tokens. OKXICE says each token will represent an entitlement backed one-for-one by a U.S. share held by a registered broker-dealer. Token holders will have shareholder benefits, including dividends, voting rights and participation in corporate actions. Those benefits attach to the entitlement represented by the token, while the backing share remains with the broker-dealer.
Customers will trade in the OKX app around the clock. Automated market maker pools built on Uniswap v4 and deployed on X Layer, OKX’s Ethereum layer-2 network, will handle their trades. The pools use deposited assets to fill trades instead of matching buyers and sellers through an order book. Customers will trade the stock tokens against payment stablecoins such as USDC and USDG.
Customers will keep the tokens in wallets they control. OKXICE says it will hold neither their assets nor their private keys. Its smart contracts will allow only approved wallets to trade or supply assets to the pools. Customers supplying assets to a pool must therefore use an approved wallet, as must customers trading against that pool.
Who can trade when the venue opens
At launch, access is limited to eligible U.S. OKX customers who activate a CeDeFi Wallet, pass identity checks and complete onboarding with OKXICE. The venue will operate under the SEC’s exemption. OKXICE is neither a registered exchange nor a broker-dealer, and it has no SEC approval. The wallet restriction also applies to eligible customers after they complete onboarding: their wallets must be approved to interact with the trading pools.
OKXICE has not said how many of the expected assets will be available on the first day or how much liquidity the trading pools will have at the open. Issuers can still exercise their right to object to third-party tokens tied to their shares.
