Wall Street Tokenization Fight Intensifies as 50 Listed Companies Oppose OKX, NYSE Parent ICE Plans

Competition among exchanges over stock tokenization is intensifying in U.S. equity markets. Major listed companies have been filing objections to plans by OKX and Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, to tokenize shares.

Crypto in America reported on November 2 that 50 companies included in the tokenization proposal being pursued by OKX and ICE through the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's innovation exemption framework had submitted objections.

OKX and ICE originally proposed tokenizing shares of 62 major listed companies. Of those, 43 objected, meaning about 70% of the initial group has moved to block the plan. Companies opposing it include JPMorgan Chase, Walmart, Nvidia, Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs.

The companies are concerned about uncertainty over how stock tokenization could affect existing share prices, liquidity and volatility, as well as shareholder rights, asset custody and market transparency.

Some have also alleged that Nasdaq encouraged listed companies to oppose the plan. An executive at a Nasdaq-listed company said a Nasdaq official had urged the company to submit an objection to OKX's stock-tokenization proposal. Nasdaq declined to comment on the allegation, but reaffirmed its negative stance on the SEC's experimental framework for tokenized exchanges.

Nasdaq is separately working this year with crypto exchange Kraken to develop "Nasdaq Equity Tokens," an effort to move stocks on-chain within the existing securities regulatory framework. That has fueled analysis that the dispute is widening into a battle among traditional exchanges for leadership in the tokenization market.

Nineteen companies from the original group proposed by OKX and ICE have not yet objected. The initial 30-day notice period is scheduled to end on November 3, after which some securities could become available for trading under the SEC's innovation exemption framework.

Meanwhile, rival platform TSV LLC could begin trading tokenized shares of Nasdaq-listed Canton Strategic Holdings first. The initial launch would cover only that company, and the structure differs from the OKX-ICE plan because it has already secured the issuer's consent.