Nine companies, including Broadcom, CoreWeave, Verizon and UnitedHealth Group, have formally objected to plans by OKXICE to offer tokenized versions of their shares, delivering an early setback to the crypto exchange’s push into US equity trading.
The objections appear in an October 15 public notice from OKXICE, a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. The venture previously identified 63 stocks it intended to support under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new Innovation Exemption.
The refusals mark an important early test of whether publicly traded companies are willing to have their shares traded on blockchain-based platforms operated outside the conventional stock exchange framework.
Which Nine Companies Rejected OKXICE’s Tokenized Stocks?
OKXICE’s October 15 notice identifies nine companies that submitted formal notices of issuer objection:
- AppLovin (APP)
- Applied Digital (APLD)
- Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI)
- Broadcom (AVGO)
- Cerebras Systems (CBRS)
- CoreWeave (CRWV)
- Rocket Lab (RKLB)
- UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
- Verizon Communications (VZ)
Eight of these companies appeared among the 63 stocks OKXICE originally identified on October 4. Cerebras was not included in that initial group, although the updated notice explicitly records its objection.
The list includes several companies associated with artificial intelligence infrastructure, including Broadcom, CoreWeave, Applied Digital and Cerebras. Their objections illustrate resistance among some technology issuers to having their shares traded through a separate blockchain marketplace.
However, the public notice does not explain why each company objected. It would therefore be premature to conclude that all nine share the same concerns or oppose stock tokenization generally.
How Does the SEC’s 30-Day Objection Rule Work?
The SEC introduced its Innovation Exemption on September 17, allowing qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues (TSVs) to facilitate trading in tokenized US-listed stocks through permissioned automated market-maker liquidity pools without registering as traditional national securities exchanges.
Under the framework, a venue seeking to offer shares tokenized by an unaffiliated third party must first notify the issuer in writing.
The company then has 30 calendar days from receiving the notice to object. If it submits an objection within that period, the venue cannot make the tokenized stock available for trading under the exemption.
If the company does not object, the venue may begin trading after the required waiting period, provided it satisfies the other regulatory conditions. Silence does not constitute an affirmative endorsement of the platform.
Importantly, an objection blocks trading on the specific venue that received it. It does not prohibit the company from pursuing its own tokenization arrangements or prevent another qualifying venue from making a separate request.
The exemption is temporary, with a five-year term, and requires tokenized stocks to provide equivalent shareholder rights, including dividends and voting rights.
FinanceFeeds reported on October 14 that former FTX Europe CEO Patrick Gruhn is preparing a competing US tokenized securities platform through Nasdaq-listed Perpetuals.com, which also intends to use the new SEC framework.
Why Are Companies Worried About Tokenized Share Trading?
A central concern is whether blockchain trading creates a separate market that produces prices inconsistent with conventional stock exchanges.
According to The Information, Stephen Wink, a fintech partner at law firm Latham & Watkins, warned that thin token trading could affect price signals in the broader equity market.
Dan Gibbons, another Latham & Watkins partner, said companies face uncertainty about how continuous trading might affect their shares when there is little incentive to accept an unfamiliar arrangement.
Applied Optoelectronics offered a more specific explanation. A company spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal that it was uncertain how tokenization might affect share prices, liquidity and volatility, and concerned investors could mistakenly assume the company endorsed the product.
These concerns are relevant to OKXICE’s proposed trading structure. According to its notice, the platform intends to use Uniswap v4 automated market-maker pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain, pairing tokenized stocks with stablecoins such as USDC, USDT and USDG.
Prices in those pools would be determined by the assets available for trading rather than directly tracking quotations from the underlying stock market. The venue would display external market prices for reference, but its smart contracts would not use price oracles to determine execution prices.
That creates a potential gap between token prices and conventional exchange quotations, particularly during periods of limited liquidity or outside regular US market hours.
Nasdaq has separately indicated that it intends to opt out of third-party tokenization of its own shares under the exemption, citing concerns about price transparency and market safeguards. That position is separate from the nine objections recorded by OKXICE.
Apple, Nvidia and Tesla Remain on OKXICE’s Proposed List
Despite the objections, OKXICE still intends to introduce tokenized trading for dozens of major US stocks, according to reporting by The Wall Street Journal.
Companies identified for the proposed platform include Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart.
These companies were not among the nine objectors disclosed in the October 15 notice. However, their absence from that list does not establish that they have approved the platform or that their objection windows have expired.
The timing depends on when each issuer received its notification. OKXICE has not announced a confirmed trading launch date.
The proposed tokens would be backed one-for-one by underlying shares held through a registered broker-dealer, with arrangements intended to preserve voting and dividend rights.
That distinguishes the proposed securities from certain synthetic stock-linked crypto products that provide price exposure without traditional share ownership.
What Do the Objections Mean for OKX and ICE?
The controversy comes seven months after ICE announced a strategic investment in OKX at a $25 billion valuation in March.
The investment gave ICE a seat on OKX’s board and established a broader partnership focused on regulated markets, crypto infrastructure and tokenized financial products.
OKXICE, the jointly owned US venture, represents a practical extension of that relationship. FinanceFeeds covered its October 4 filing to launch a tokenized stock platform, outlining the proposed 24/7 trading model and initial selection of more than 60 equities.
The latest refusals do not invalidate the partnership or prevent the venue from launching other eligible stock tokens. They do, however, show that issuer objections can narrow the available product universe before trading begins.
For ICE, the development also highlights a challenge in combining established equity market infrastructure with blockchain-based execution. Bringing stocks onchain involves more than technology and regulatory exemptions; companies must also decide whether the arrangement serves their shareholders.
The ICE-OKX venture’s earlier efforts to establish regulated US brokerage infrastructure illustrate how its ambitions extend beyond this particular tokenized trading platform.
The next measurable developments will be any additional issuer objections, the expiry of notification windows, publication of the final eligible stock list and confirmation of OKXICE’s first trading date.
For now, the SEC has opened a route for tokenized US stocks, but OKXICE’s first refusals show that legal permission does not guarantee corporate acceptance.