- The objection list keeps growing. Nvidia, Costco, Nike and Micron Technology are among 12 more companies that have told OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, that they do not want their shares traded on its planned blockchain-based marketplace. An updated public notice dated Oct. 30 brings the total to 50 objectors.
- Most of the original list has opted out. Of the 62 companies OKXICE initially picked for trading, 43, or about 69%, have now objected, according to a CoinDesk tally, and seven other objectors were outside the original selection. The latest batch also includes CrowdStrike, Corning, IREN, USA Rare Earth, Bloom Energy, Palo Alto Networks, Reddit and Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
- A big group has not objected yet. Nineteen companies from the original list have no disclosed objection, including Apple, Amazon, Tesla, SpaceX, Netflix, Palantir, Strategy, Robinhood, Coinbase and Circle. That is not an endorsement, CoinDesk noted, though Securitize and BitGo previously said they did not plan to object.
- The clock is running out. Issuers can object on or before the 30th calendar day after receiving a venue’s notice, which puts the deadline around Tuesday, Nov. 3, for companies notified on Oct. 4, and venues have up to five business days to disclose objections, so the published list can lag.
What Happened?
OKXICE is building a venue that would let investors trade digital versions of US stocks around the clock and pay with stablecoins. It is being developed under the SEC’s five-year “Innovation Exemption,” which allows companies to block their shares from trading on such platforms when the tokenization is arranged by an unaffiliated third party. Friday’s notice added 12 names, bringing the tally to 50. Andrew Cuomo, OKXICE’s co-chairman and former New York governor, said many companies wanted to see how the market works before joining: “We are at the very beginning of the rollout of fundamentally different market structure.”
Why It Matters?
The opt-out wave shows how much leverage issuers hold under the SEC’s framework, and how cautious corporate America remains about third-party tokenization of its shares. Supporters promise longer trading hours and faster settlement, but companies are still weighing whether those benefits would attract more investors and how trading outside the familiar stock market would affect them. Objections are not necessarily a rejection of the technology: JPMorgan Chase, an earlier objector, said it remains encouraged by tokenization but wants to be thoughtful about how its shares are represented and traded. For OKX and ICE, a launch roster without most of the largest names would make the venue far less compelling to traders.
What’s Next?
Watch for the final tally once the response window closes and disclosures catch up over the following business days. The key question is whether megacaps such as Apple, Amazon and Tesla stay off the list, which would give OKXICE a meaningful launch lineup. Cuomo expects participation to grow as the benefits of tokenization become better understood, but continued objections could push the industry toward issuer-sponsored tokenized shares instead of third-party versions.
Affected Tickers and Coins: ICE, NVDA, COST, NKE, MU
Source: CoinDesk
