IBM, Oracle, Intel and quantum computing company IonQ have reportedly objected to their shares being included in the proposed OKX-ICE tokenised stock platform, taking the number of opposing issuers to 26.
The objections were reported on 27 October by journalist Eleanor Terrett. They follow a 23 October disclosure listing 22 companies, including Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo.
Under the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption, companies have 30 calendar days to object to unaffiliated tokenisation. A valid objection prevents OKX-ICE from offering a third-party tokenised version of the affected company’s shares through that exemption.
It does not amount to a wider prohibition on tokenisation, nor does it stop a company from creating its own blockchain-based securities.
Technology and financial companies among objectors
IBM, Oracle, Intel and IonQ join firms from the technology, finance, telecommunications and healthcare sectors that have challenged their inclusion in OKX-ICE’s proposed venue.
The earlier list also featured Qualcomm, Cisco Systems, Broadcom and CoreWeave. Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo were among the financial services companies that had objected, indicating that opposition extends beyond technology businesses.
OKX-ICE is a joint venture between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. It initially identified 63 prospective securities for the planned platform, which aims to offer blockchain-based versions of US-listed shares while meeting SEC requirements concerning shareholder rights.
The proposed system would provide continuous trading through permissioned liquidity pools on the X Layer blockchain. The plans remain subject to operational requirements, and the objections do not show that any of the affected tokenised shares have already been traded.
SEC framework sets 30-day objection period
The SEC’s innovation exemption, announced on 17 September, allows qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues to trade certain blockchain-based shares through permissioned automated market makers.
Platforms must notify companies before offering shares tokenised by an unaffiliated third party. Issuers then have 30 calendar days to submit a written objection. If they object in time, the venue cannot list the security under the exemption; if they do not, the listing may proceed provided all other conditions are met.
Tokenised stocks must carry the same rights and privileges as conventional shares in the equivalent class. Venues must protect shareholder rights, comply with restrictions on trading volumes and suspend token trading if the underlying shares are halted on their primary exchange.
SEC Chairman Paul Atkins said the exemption would allow trading in a “permissioned environment” while the commission considered further regulatory action. The temporary relief is due to expire five years after publication unless regulators amend or replace it.
Calls for affirmative issuer approval
The growing number of objections has increased scrutiny of the SEC’s opt-out approach, which allows third-party tokenisation to be proposed without prior approval from the issuer.
In a 19 October comment letter, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association urged the SEC to require affirmative issuer consent. It also called for a centralised objection system and proposed extending the objection period from 30 to 90 days.
The organisation questioned how beneficial owners of tokenised securities would be identified and how existing shareholder disclosure rules would apply.
OKX-ICE must still satisfy the SEC’s technical requirements, including the use of public, auditable smart contracts on a public, permissionless blockchain. Its notices must disclose issuer objections, while individual notification dates determine when each 30-day period ends.
The 23 October notice recorded 22 objecting companies. Terrett’s 27 October report adds four more, taking the reported total to 26, although the latest revised venue register was not independently available for confirmation.
