A total of 33 major companies, including JPMorgan and Coca-Cola, have officially blocked plans to list tokenized versions of their shares on the OKXICE platform. Recent additions to the list of objectors include AMD, Adobe, and Dell. The platform, which is supported by the crypto exchange OKX and the NYSE owner ICE, has now seen nearly half of its initial 62-company roster opt out.
The regulatory framework for this process stems from an SEC Innovation Exemption introduced on September 17. This rule allows venues to trade tokenized US shares but grants companies a 30-day window to file an objection. While these objections prevent specific venues from listing the tokens, they do not stop other platforms from attempting to tokenize the same assets.
Companies such as Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Amazon have not joined the objection list. The current situation follows a public complaint from AMC CEO Adam Aron in September regarding unauthorized tokens tracking his company's stock price. The OKXICE platform operates outside of Regulation NMS, which traditionally ensures price transparency across US markets.
The mass withdrawal of companies raises questions regarding the future viability of the OKXICE market. Nasdaq has expressed concerns that trading on such venues could lead to price discrepancies compared to traditional exchanges. For shareholders of the companies that opted out, trading remains unaffected on standard exchanges, and the objections do not alter the value of the underlying stocks.
