Walmart and Four Other Companies Oppose OKX-ICE Tokenized Stock Platform
Walmart and four other major companies have objected to the planned listing of their shares on OKX-ICE TSV, a proposed platform for trading tokenized U.S. stocks around the clock.
An updated notice published Wednesday added Walmart, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, health insurer Cigna Group, cruise operator Carnival and Arcos Dorados, the largest McDonald’s franchisee in Latin America, to the growing list of companies opposing the move. The total number of objectors has now reached 38.
The list has expanded rapidly since the venue initially disclosed nine objections on October 15. That number rose to 16 on October 19, including Microsoft, before reaching 22 on October 23. A further seven companies were added the following day, with JPMorgan Chase, Coca-Cola and Dell among those named.
The latest additions extend the opposition across several industries, including retail, health care and travel. Arcos Dorados joins McDonald’s, which had already objected, while Eli Lilly and Cigna add to a group that includes UnitedHealth Group and Moderna.
SEC rules give companies a say
The objections could directly affect which shares become available on the platform. Under an innovation exemption introduced by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September, a trading venue must notify companies before offering tokenized versions of their shares created by unaffiliated third parties.
Companies have 30 days after receiving notice to submit a written objection. If they do, the venue cannot offer those shares for trading under the exemption. The restriction applies specifically to the platform receiving the objection, and the published notices do not explain why the companies chose to oppose the listings.
The exemption emerged after broader crypto market legislation, including the Clarity Act, stalled in the Senate. It provides a regulatory route for certain tokenized securities offerings while imposing limits on the assets and trading activity permitted.
OKX and ICE plan 24/7 stock trading
OKX-ICE TSV is a joint venture equally owned by the U.S. holding company of crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
The venture aims to let approved users trade tokenized U.S. equities 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The companies had previously announced plans to work together on tokenized securities before unveiling the proposed trading venue this month.
Trades are expected to take place through permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX's XLayer blockchain, with stablecoins such as USDC serving as trading assets.
The SEC exemption limits the platform to 75 of the largest and most liquid stocks, with trading volume capped at 0.25% of each stock's average daily volume. The framework also permits up to 250 additional stocks, subject to a higher trading limit of 2.5% of average daily volume.
More objections could follow
The list of companies opposing the platform may continue to grow as the 30-day objection period remains open for companies that have received notices. Several of the most actively traded U.S. stocks, including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple and Amazon, had not appeared on the objection list at the time of the latest update.
The venture has also indicated that it could support shares tokenized directly by their issuers. Such arrangements would allow companies to control how their equity is represented and offered on blockchain networks. However, the published notices do not identify any issuer-created tokenized shares planned for the platform.
The growing number of objections highlights a potential challenge for tokenized stock trading: while blockchain-based markets could offer extended trading hours and new ways to access equities, platforms may still face restrictions when companies do not want third parties to create and distribute digital versions of their shares.