26 Issuers, Including IBM, Object to Listing Their Tokenized Shares Through OKXICE
Key Facts
OKXICE listed IBM among the entities that objected to making a token representing its shares available for trading on the platform, according to a public notice dated October 26, 2026. The platform said it had received objections from 26 issuers, a step that prevents the tokens in question from being listed on the platform under the terms of the U.S. regulatory exemption. The objection here concerns a token issued by a third party unaffiliated with the company, and does not mean that conventional IBM shares were already trading on OKXICE. Nor does the company’s objection amount to a general ban on tokenizing its shares or trading them through other platforms. The notice recorded the names of the objecting entities without stating the reasons for IBM’s objection or those of the other companies.
The list also included companies such as IonQ, Oracle and Intel, according to the notice. The names show that the objections involve companies from different sectors, but the document does not attribute a unified position on share tokenization to them. It also provides no explanation of any issuer’s motives, so the objections cannot be linked to a general rejection of the technology or to the companies’ assessment of its risks. The list establishes only that OKXICE received objection notices from those entities. For IBM, the direct effect concerns the availability of the token in question on this platform.
On September 17, 2026, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued an order granting eligible platforms a temporary, conditional exemption to trade tokenized NMS stocks through automated market makers and permissioned liquidity pools. The order is not a specific approval for IBM shares; rather, it sets a limited framework for the activities of tokenized securities platforms. The framework covers shares tokenized by the issuer or an entity acting on its behalf, as well as tokens issued by a third party unaffiliated with the issuer. In the latter case, the platform must notify the issuer in writing and give it an opportunity to object before making the tokenized stock available for trading. The order thus provides a route to trading under specified conditions, while preserving a means for the issuer to object to the token in question on the relevant platform.
The SEC staff guidance states that a timely objection prevents the platform from making the tokenized stock available for trading, and requires it to update its public notice to disclose the issuer’s objection. This means IBM’s objection is limited to the token issued by a third party and to OKXICE; it does not automatically extend to tokenization arrangements carried out by the issuer itself or to other platforms. The order also requires tokenized shares traded under it to give holders the same rights and privileges as conventional shares of the equivalent class. This condition makes shareholder rights part of the exemption’s requirements, alongside procedures for notifying companies. The objection remains a specific mechanism within that framework and does not become a general veto over all tokenization activity.
OKXICE plans to use Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on the XLayer network, with trading or liquidity provision limited to wallets holding a valid SBT token issued by OKXICE. This structure shows that the proposed availability is tied to specific pools and a wallet access requirement, rather than to automatic listing on an open market. The platform’s notice also showed that OKXICE LLC is a joint venture in which Intercontinental Exchange Holdings holds a 50% stake and OKC USA Holding owns the other 50%. The SEC listed OKXICE among the entities that filed a notice of intent to operate under the exemption on October 4, 2026. But it said that including an entity on the list does not establish that it meets the definition of a tokenized securities platform or constitute an endorsement of the contents or accuracy of its notice.
The OKXICE notice also stated that the platform is not registered with the SEC in any capacity relating to activities conducted under the exemption, and that the SEC had not endorsed the merits or accuracy of disclosures submitted by the platform. This caveat sets out what the exemption means for the platform’s regulatory status: the temporary exemption is not a general SEC endorsement of OKXICE or of the information in its notice. The exemptions are set to expire five years after publication of the order. The SEC requested public comment on potential amendments, while Commissioner Mark Uyeda said the exemption gives the SEC a deeper understanding of how these platforms operate to support future policymaking. Uyeda added that detailed, data-backed comments, including metrics, case studies and incident analyses, could help assess trade-offs and shape subsequent proposals.