Nine US-listed companies, including CoreWeave, Broadcom and Verizon, have objected to their shares being traded in tokenised form on OKXICE, the joint venture between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange.
The objections were disclosed in a public notice dated Thursday. The companies named were Cerebras Systems (CBRS), AppLovin (APP), Applied Digital (APLD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), CoreWeave (CRWV), Verizon (VZ), Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), Broadcom (AVGO) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH).
The notice did not explain the reasons for the objections.
Applied Optoelectronics told the Wall Street Journal it was uncertain how tokenisation could affect its share price, liquidity and volatility. The company also raised concerns that investors might mistakenly believe it had sponsored or endorsed an offering.
The company said it could see no clear benefit “to AOI or our shareholders” that justified the uncertainty.
Eight of the nine companies were among 63 tickers OKXICE announced on 4 October as potential offerings. Cerebras Systems was not included on that list. OKXICE told the Journal it still intended to launch trading in dozens of US-listed companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart.
Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York who became OKXICE’s co-chair when the venture was formed in June, said he expected companies to be sceptical. He described the venue as an initial step towards tokenising securities.
Nasdaq opts out
Nasdaq said it would opt out of having its own shares tokenised under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s framework.
A company spokesperson told the Journal that Nasdaq did not want its shares traded on a venue that failed to show the best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape. The exchange remains committed to tokenisation, the spokesperson added.
The SEC approved a Nasdaq pilot for trading tokenised equities, The Block reported earlier this year. Nasdaq has argued that trading outside the national market system could lead to differences in price and transparency. Citadel Securities raised similar concerns about a potential “shadow” US equity market in a letter to the SEC last year.
How companies can object
OKXICE plans to use the SEC’s innovation exemption, a five-year order issued on 17 September allowing venues to trade tokenised versions of US-listed shares without registering as exchanges.
If a third party tokenises a stock, the venue must notify the company at least 30 calendar days before trading starts. The company then has 30 calendar days to submit an issuer objection. A timely objection prevents that venue from offering the token, while silence allows the listing to proceed.
The objection applies only to the venue that issued the notice, meaning each new venue begins its own 30-day period.
Brett Redfearn, president of Securitize, said a company could reject one venue without opposing tokenisation generally. Securitize launched tokenised US stocks on 8 October, and those assets are expected to trade on OKXICE, according to the Journal. Cooley partner Rodrigo Seira said the SEC was using the exemption to gather information for permanent rules.
OKXICE notified the SEC of its plans on 4 October. It will operate permissioned liquidity pools on X Layer, a layer-2 network, with stocks paired against USDC, USDG or USDT. Users must pass identity and sanctions checks and hold a non-transferable “soulbound” token. No launch date has been announced.
AMC Entertainment has separately criticised Robinhood’s stock tokens. Robinhood describes them as debt securities issued by an offshore affiliate and not offered in the United States.
AMC chief executive Adam Aron called tokens linked to AMC “contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile” in a 3 September post on X, saying the company had no connection to them.
Robinhood senior vice-president Johann Kerbrat described the criticism as “mostly a marketing stunt”. Morgan Stanley is expected to support tokenised equities in the first quarter of 2027.
The value of tokenised stocks was about $3.5bn on 15 October, up from about $680m at the start of the year, according to The Block’s data. OKXICE and the nine companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
