Issuer pushback hits OKXICE token plan

A planned onchain stock venue operated by OKXICE now faces written objections from about 62 companies, preventing tokenized versions of their shares from trading there. A notice dated November 4 added Boeing (BA), ServiceNow (NOW) and Nebius (NBIS) Group to the roster of issuers opposing the tokenization of their stocks on the venue.

Earlier filings had listed Apple (AAPL), The Home Depot (HD) and GE Vernova (GEV) among the companies that declined participation, with the total objectors moving from 56 in early November to 59 and now 62. Eleanor Terrett posted on X that the count of objecting issuers increased from 59 on November 3 to 62 after Nebius (NBIS), Boeing (BA) and ServiceNow (NOW) joined the opposition.

Boeing and ServiceNow were part of the original group of companies proposed for tokenization on OKXICE, while Nebius was not on that initial list. Of the 62 companies originally proposed, 54 have lodged objections.

Amazon, Tesla, Nvidia, Nike and Reddit have appeared among those opposing the tokenized stock plan as the tally climbed. No company has been removed from the venue’s objection list, and the list has grown steadily since mid‑October.

The Securities and Exchange Commission issued an exemptive order for tokenized securities venues on September 17, setting out how such platforms may offer third-party tokens of listed stocks. Before listing a token representing a company’s equity, the venue must send that issuer a written notice and wait at least 30 calendar days after the notice is received before trading can begin.

If a company submits a written objection within that window, the token cannot be listed on the venue, and the operator has five business days to publish a revised notice. The SEC order outlines potential concerns issuers may weigh, including maintaining accurate shareholder registers for onchain transfers and possible effects on the prices of their underlying shares.

OKXICE LLC, a Texas company owned 50% by Intercontinental Exchange and 50% by OKC USA Holding Inc., is responsible for operating the venue. It plans to support trading of tokenized stocks against approved payment stablecoins using permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on the XLayer network, which are accessible only to wallets that hold a venue-issued soulbound token.

The initiative is built under a five-year “Innovation Exemption” from the SEC that allows the specific trading architecture combining automated market makers and liquidity pools. While the tokenization framework and roster of proposed issuers have been made public, the venture has not yet disclosed a launch date for trading to begin.

Nebius, an Amsterdam-listed AI infrastructure firm, has become a prominent name in the opposition after objecting to the tokenized trading of its shares on the OKXICE venue. At the same time, Nebius’s stock has contended with a 7.1% slide following a decision by Citigroup to trim its price target to $265 while maintaining a buy rating.

Commentary on the tokenization debate emphasizes that this is a dispute over the form and venue of trading, not over new operational developments such as orders or capacity expansions for Nebius. The original OKXICE roster encompassed 62 companies but 63 ticker symbols, reflecting the inclusion of multiple share classes for at least one issuer.