Nine Companies Reject Tokenized Stock Platform OKXICE, Accounting for 14% of Planned Listings
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Nine companies have formally opted out of OKXICE, the tokenized-stock platform jointly launched by crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent ICE, removing 14% of the platform's planned 63 listings — a sign that traditional issuers remain wary of putting their shares on-chain.
What is OKXICE, and why are companies refusing?
OKXICE is a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange). It turns traditional stocks into tokens traded on a blockchain. This means → you buy a token that represents a real share — same voting rights, same dividends — but the trade settles on-chain instead of through a traditional exchange.
Last month the SEC issued an "innovation exemption" allowing such platforms to operate, but required them to notify each listed company individually. Companies can formally object and opt out.
Nine companies used that objection process to exit, accounting for 14% of OKXICE's planned 63 listings.
Which nine companies said no?
The list spans AI chips (Cerebras Systems), ad tech (AppLovin), data centers (Applied Digital, CoreWeave), aerospace (Rocket Lab), optical communications (Applied Optoelectronics), chip giant Broadcom, telecom Verizon, and health insurer UnitedHealth Group.
Applied Optoelectronics gave a public reason: the framework is too new, and the impact on share pricing, liquidity, and volatility is uncertain — with no clear benefit to offset the risk. In plain terms = the company worries that once its stock is "moved on-chain," pricing and trading behavior could become unpredictable.
The company also stressed it does not want investors to mistake silence for endorsement. The other eight did not respond to requests for comment.
How does the platform view the pushback?
OKXICE co-chair Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, said some opt-outs were expected.
His words: "There will be a transition period — this is very different. Some companies will jump right in; others will wait and see."
This reflects the platform's framing of current resistance as "normal friction with a new model," not a rejection of the concept itself.
Are Nasdaq and DTCC taking a different path?
Nasdaq plans to withdraw its own stock from all new securities platforms. It publicly warned that such platforms could undermine transparent price discovery and regulatory safeguards.
Yet Nasdaq is simultaneously participating in a separate tokenization project led by DTCC (the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation). This means → Nasdaq opposes the retail-facing, exchange-bypassing path — not tokenization itself.
The key difference with DTCC's project: no issuer authorization is required — the SEC issued a "no-action letter" last year. It serves institutional investors and handles post-trade settlement, enabling near-instant, round-the-clock share transfers. Put simply = DTCC is upgrading the back kitchen — speeding up what happens after a trade, largely invisible to ordinary investors.
What does this mean for the market?
A 14% opt-out rate shows traditional issuers still have reservations — especially around pricing uncertainty and untested regulation.
But refusal is not a blanket shutdown: 86% of planned listings have not objected, and the DTCC's institutional path continues to advance.
This reflects a market at the "proof of concept" stage — whether corporate resistance fades as the framework matures will be the core test of whether tokenized stocks can move from idea to reality.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。