Intel, Oracle, IBM Object to Tokenized Stock Venue

Intel, Oracle, IBM, and IonQ have joined a growing list of companies that object to the trading of their shares on the OKXICE tokenized stock venue. This development, noted in the venue's updated public notice from October 26, brings the total number of objecting issuers to 26.

This figure has risen significantly from nine on October 15, reflecting increasing resistance from the tech sector.

The OKXICE TSV is a joint venture between Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE owner) and OKX's U.S. holding company. The platform intends to enable approved users to trade tokenized U.S. stocks around the clock via permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX’s XLayer blockchain, using stablecoins like USDC.

Users are required to undergo identity and sanctions verification and possess a non-transferable “soulbound” token to participate in trading. The venue plans to operate under an SEC innovation exemption, introduced in September after the Clarity Act encountered delays in the Senate.

The latest notice from the tokenized stock venue emphasizes a critical risk for investors. Each token represents a claim on a physical share held by a third-party “tokenizer” through a registered broker-dealer. The notice indicates uncertainty regarding whether tokenized shares held in a self-custodied wallet would be classified as customer property or fall under the protection of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) if the broker-dealer were to fail. SIPC typically safeguards brokerage customers during firm failures.

Furthermore, the notice specifies that all trades must be fully funded, prohibiting margin trading or borrowing. Liquidity providers are not mandated to be registered market makers and retain the ability to withdraw their liquidity at any time. The collaboration between OKX and ICE on tokenized securities began earlier this year, preceding the public announcement of their plans for this specific venue.