CoreWeave, Broadcom, Verizon among nine companies objecting to tokenized trading of their shares on OKXICE

Nine U.S.-listed companies have objected to tokenized versions of their stock trading on OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, according to a public notice from the venue. 

The notice, dated Thursday, lists objections from Cerebras Systems (CBRS), AppLovin (APP), Applied Digital (APLD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), CoreWeave (CRWV), Verizon (VZ), Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), Broadcom (AVGO) and UnitedHealth Group (UNH). It does not give reasons for any of the objections.

A spokeswoman for Applied Optoelectronics told the Wall Street Journal the fiber-optic maker objected because it was unsure how tokenization would affect its stock price, liquidity and volatility. She also cited the risk of investors being confused about the company's involvement in an offering it did not sponsor or endorse, and said the company saw no clear benefit "to AOI or our shareholders" that justified the uncertainty.

Eight of the nine objectors were among the 63 tickers OKXICE named on Oct. 4 as stocks it intended to offer. Cerebras was not on that list. OKXICE told the Journal it still plans to launch trading for dozens of U.S.-listed companies, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Tesla, JPMorgan Chase and Walmart.

OKXICE co-chair Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York who took the role when the venture formed in June, said in a recent interview with the Journal that he expects companies to be skeptical of tokenizing their stock. He described the venue as a first step toward tokenizing securities.

Nasdaq plans to opt out

Nasdaq said it would opt out of having its own shares tokenized under the SEC's framework, according to an FAQ on its website. A Nasdaq spokesperson told the Journal the company does not want its shares trading on a venue that does not display best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape, and said the exchange remains committed to tokenization.

The SEC approved a Nasdaq pilot to trade tokenized equities, The Block reported earlier this year. Nasdaq has argued that tokenized trading outside the national market system could drift away from the broader market on price and transparency, according to the Journal. Citadel Securities raised similar concerns about a "shadow" U.S. equity market in a letter to the SEC last year.

How objections work

OKXICE plans to operate under the SEC's innovation exemption, a five-year order issued Sept. 17 that lets tokenized securities venues trade tokenized versions of U.S.-listed stocks without registering as exchanges. When a third party rather than the company itself tokenizes a stock, the venue must notify the company at least 30 calendar days before trading begins, according to summaries of the order by law firms Sullivan & Cromwell and O'Melveny & Myers.

The company then has 30 calendar days to file a notice of issuer objection. If a company objects in time, their objection bars that venue from offering the stock token, though companies are not required to affirmatively approve listings — silence means the listing may proceed. An objection applies only to the venue that sent the notice, so each new venue starts its own 30-day clock.

Securitize President Brett Redfearn told the Journal that companies could object to one venue without rejecting tokenization altogether. Stocks tokenized by Securitize, which launched tokenized U.S. stocks on Oct. 8, are expected to trade on OKXICE, the Journal reported. Rodrigo Seira, a partner at law firm Cooley, told the Journal the SEC is using the exemption to gather information for its permanent rules.

OKXICE notified the SEC of its plans on Oct. 4, The Block previously reported. The venue will run permissioned liquidity pools on X Layer, a layer-2 network, with each stock paired against USDC, USDG or USDT. Traders must pass identity and sanctions screening and hold a non-transferable "soulbound" token to access the pools, according to the notice, which does not give a launch date.

AMC separately criticized Robinhood's stock tokens

AMC Entertainment has separately publicly criticized Robinhood's stock tokens, which Robinhood describes as debt securities issued by an offshore affiliate and not offered in the States. AMC CEO Adam Aron called the tokens tied to AMC "contemptible, outrageous, disgusting, detestable, inexcusable, vile" in a Sept. 3 post on X, and said AMC had no connection to them.

Robinhood SVP Johann Kerbrat called AMC's criticism "mostly a marketing stunt" in an interview with The Block earlier this month. He said the exemption's caps on volume and asset types would limit Robinhood's ability to bring its stock tokens to the U.S.

Morgan Stanley expects to support tokenized equities in the first quarter of 2027, The Block reported earlier this week. 

The value of tokenized stocks totaled about $3.5 billion as of Oct. 15, up from about $680 million at the start of the year, according to The Block’s data.

OKXICE and the nine companies did not immediately respond to The Block's requests for comment.