A total of 26 companies have formally objected to OKXICE's plans to offer blockchain-based trading of their shares. IBM, Oracle, Intel, and IonQ were named as the latest objectors in a public notice issued Monday, Oct. 26.
These four tech giants join earlier objectors including Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Cisco, and Wells Fargo. Four of the newly disclosed objectors—including IBM, Oracle, and Intel—were part of OKXICE's original proposed roster of 62 companies. That brings objections from the initial selection to 23, or approximately 37 percent of the original list.
OKXICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange, operates under the SEC's five-year "Innovation Exemption," a framework allowing qualifying venues to test round-the-clock, blockchain-based stock trading. The platform intends to use Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on OKX's XLayer blockchain, with all transactions settled using stablecoins. Trading will rely on automated market makers (AMMs), which execute trades through asset pools rather than traditional order books.
Under SEC rules, trading venues must notify issuers of their intent to offer tokenized shares. Companies then have a 30-day window to file an objection before trading can commence. Objecting carries no cost for issuers. Remaining silent allows trading to begin without a clear mechanism to withdraw consent later, creating incentive for legal and investor-relations teams to opt out while they evaluate the new framework.
The financial benefits for issuers remain unclear. While tokenization could generate additional demand, particularly from overseas investors, this upside may not outweigh concerns about thin, round-the-clock trading operating outside established market structures. Andrew Cuomo, OKXICE's co-chairman and former New York governor, previously characterized the objections as expected, saying during a press call that many companies would prefer to "wait and see how it goes rather than be the first to participate."
