OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, will launch a blockchain-based platform for trading tokenized U.S. securities on November 23. The venture plans to offer more than 70 digital securities, including shares of Coinbase, Circle, Robinhood and Strategy, alongside 59 exchange-traded funds from Direxion.
The launch represents a significant step toward bringing traditional securities onto blockchain infrastructure. However, the project is moving forward despite widespread opposition from companies whose shares were initially selected for tokenization.
The platform, known as the OKXICE Tokenized Securities Venue (TSV), is a joint venture between cryptocurrency exchange OKX and ICE. It will initially serve eligible U.S.-based OKX customers who complete identity verification and activate a CeDeFi Wallet.
Unlike conventional stock exchanges, the venue is designed to support trading around the clock. Transactions will take place through automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools built on Uniswap v4 and deployed on X Layer, OKX’s Ethereum Layer 2 network.
Securitize will provide the tokenization infrastructure. Each digital token will represent a security entitlement backed one-to-one by an underlying U.S. share. According to the companies, token holders will retain economic and shareholder rights, including dividends, voting and participation in corporate actions.
Customers will hold the securities in self-custodial wallets, meaning OKXICE will not hold their assets or private keys.
The initial offering is expected to include more than 70 assets. These include securities associated with Coinbase, Circle, Robinhood, Strategy, BitGo, Securitize and Better.com, as well as 59 Direxion ETFs. Strategy will also make preferred shares available.
Not all confirmed assets are necessarily expected to be tradable on the first day.
The launch follows a difficult process of obtaining issuer participation.
Under the SEC’s innovation exemption, tokenized securities venues must notify companies before offering tokenized versions of their shares. Issuers have an opportunity to object to third-party tokenization.
According to CoinDesk, 56 of the 62 companies in OKXICE’s original proposed selection had objected by November 6, representing approximately 90% of the initial group. The total number of disclosed objections had reached 67, including companies outside the original selection.
Major companies that opted out included Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla, Meta and JPMorgan Chase.
The remaining potential participants are notably concentrated in businesses already connected to the cryptocurrency industry. Coinbase, Circle, Robinhood, Strategy, BitGo and Securitize are among the companies without disclosed objections.
The resistance highlights a fundamental disagreement over how tokenized stocks should enter financial markets. Companies have raised concerns about potential effects on share prices, liquidity and volatility, as well as the possibility that investors could mistakenly interpret tokenized securities as products officially endorsed by the underlying issuers.
For OKXICE, the reduced selection does not prevent the platform from launching, but it changes the composition of the market it originally intended to build.
The platform will operate under the SEC’s Innovation Exemption, introduced on September 17, 2026. The framework provides temporary, conditional relief from certain registration requirements for qualifying Tokenized Securities Venues using permissioned AMM liquidity pools.
The exemption is designed to allow blockchain-based trading of eligible U.S. securities while the regulator evaluates the development of tokenized capital markets.
However, it is not a blanket authorization. The SEC imposes conditions covering eligible securities, trading volumes, issuer notification, smart-contract auditability and investor protections. The exemption is scheduled to expire after five years.
Importantly, OKXICE is not presenting itself as a fully registered national securities exchange or broker-dealer under this framework. The distinction matters because the platform’s regulatory status is based on temporary, conditional exemptive relief rather than conventional exchange registration.
The proposed model could make U.S. securities more accessible to investors who increasingly expect financial markets to operate continuously.
Tokenization could also enable fractional exposure, faster settlement and the use of digital securities within blockchain-based financial applications. For crypto platforms, it creates an opportunity to expand beyond digital assets into traditional financial products.
However, 24/7 trading introduces challenges. The underlying U.S. stock market does not operate continuously, potentially creating differences between token prices and the prices of traditional shares. Liquidity outside regular market hours could also be limited, increasing spreads and price volatility.
The objections from major issuers further demonstrate that technical infrastructure alone cannot guarantee widespread adoption. Companies want greater clarity about how tokenized shares interact with existing shareholder rights, market transparency and corporate governance.
OKXICE’s November 23 launch will therefore be more than another tokenization product release. It will provide an early test of whether a regulated, permissioned blockchain venue can attract meaningful trading activity while operating alongside traditional U.S. securities markets.