The four names appeared in an updated public notice dated 26 October from OKXICE, the proposed trading venue jointly owned by Intercontinental Exchange, which operates the New York Stock Exchange, and OKX’s US holding company. The previous notice, issued on 23 October, identified 22 objecting issuers.
The objections restrict the venture’s ability to offer tokenised versions of those companies’ shares under a temporary framework established by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The framework allows eligible trading venues to proceed without an issuer’s affirmative approval, but gives companies an opportunity to prevent unaffiliated third parties from tokenising their securities.
The revised notice does not explain why Intel, Oracle, IBM or IonQ objected. It also gives no date for the proposed platform’s launch. Their decisions add to resistance from companies across the technology, financial services and telecommunications sectors.
Microsoft, Alphabet, Broadcom, Qualcomm, Arm Holdings, Cisco, Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Verizon are among the other companies listed as objectors. The number has risen sharply from nine on 15 October to 16 on 19 October, 22 on 23 October and 26 in the latest notice.
The SEC’s exemption, dated 17 September, requires a venue seeking to trade securities tokenised by an unaffiliated party to notify the issuer and allow at least 30 calendar days before trading begins. An issuer that objects in writing within that period can prevent the proposed listing under the exemption. Venues must publicly update their objection lists within five business days.
The arrangement has prompted questions about whether companies should have to opt out of tokenisation rather than explicitly consent before their shares are offered in blockchain form. The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association has urged the regulator to require affirmative issuer consent, establish a centralised objection process and extend the response period to 90 days.
The industry association has also raised concerns about identifying beneficial owners and applying established shareholder disclosure requirements to blockchain transactions. Its proposals are not part of the SEC’s current exemption, which remains a temporary regulatory arrangement rather than a permanent restructuring of US securities rules.
OKXICE intends to provide continuous trading in tokenised US equities through permissioned liquidity pools using Uniswap v4 technology on OKX’s X Layer blockchain. Participants would have to satisfy identity and sanctions screening requirements and hold a non-transferable digital access token before trading.
The venture’s initial notice identified 63 securities representing 62 companies as potential offerings. With 26 issuers now objecting, more than two-fifths of that original company roster have formally opposed inclusion. The notices do not establish that any of the proposed securities have begun trading.
Under the planned structure, tokens would represent claims linked to underlying shares held through a registered broker-dealer. The venue’s disclosures warn that the treatment of tokens kept in investors’ own digital wallets remains uncertain if the intermediary fails.
Specifically, the notice says it is unclear whether such holdings would qualify as customer property or receive protection from the Securities Investor Protection Corporation. Investors could consequently face delayed or incomplete recovery, depending on how the relevant legal protections are interpreted.
The disclosures also identify technology and market-operation risks. The smart contract controlling access has undergone internal review but not an external audit, while certain contract upgrades can take effect without a waiting period or advance warning to participants.
Trading would be fully funded, without margin borrowing. Liquidity providers would not necessarily be registered market makers and could withdraw funds from trading pools, potentially affecting execution conditions. The venture also acknowledges uncertainty about how some broker-dealer obligations, including trade reporting and best execution, apply to its model.
The exemption is scheduled to expire in September 2031 unless amended or replaced. The venue says it is not registered with the SEC for the proposed activities and is not subject to Regulation NMS, the regulatory framework governing conventional US equity market trading.
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