OKX and ICE Set November 23 Launch for Tokenized Stock Trading as 67 Companies Opt Out
Key Facts
OKX and Intercontinental Exchange announced that they will launch the OKXICE platform for trading tokenized U.S. securities on November 23, 2026, in a move that will put to a practical test a temporary exemption made available by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to select platforms. The companies said they had confirmed 70 assets from issuers, along with 59 exchange-traded funds, as of November 11. The launch date comes as 67 companies have opted not to make their shares available on the platform, according to the latest filing cited in a report published on November 11. The companies named in the report include Tesla, Meta, Netflix, Costco and Home Depot. This means the announced launch covers a defined group of assets and does not indicate that all U.S. stocks or exchange-traded funds will be available.
OKXICE is a joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. Andrew Cuomo, the project’s co-chair, said, "The future of finance is on-chain, and we have an opportunity to build it here in America, with the standards, safeguards and ambition investors expect." The platform aims to facilitate trading through automated market maker liquidity pools built on Uniswap v4 on OKX’s X Layer network. According to OKX, each token will represent an entitlement to a security backed one-for-one by an underlying U.S. share, with the applicable economic and shareholder rights. Customers will hold the digital securities in self-custody wallets, while the company says the platform will not hold their assets or private keys.
The exemption on which the project relies was issued by the SEC on September 17, 2026, under a temporary, conditional order concerning certain tokenized securities trading platforms and liquidity providers. The framework allows tokenized shares of National Market System stocks to be traded through permitted automated market makers and liquidity pools, while keeping the activity within an environment subject to SEC conditions. SEC Chair Paul Atkins said the exemption "allows platforms to trade tokenized National Market System stocks in a permitted environment today, while the Commission considers the need for additional steps to facilitate on-chain trading." The SEC invited public comment on aspects of the exemption, potential amendments and next steps. The exemptions are set to expire five years after publication of the order.
The SEC’s conditions tie the availability of a tokenized share to parity in rights and privileges with the traditional share of the same class. The platform must also notify the issuer in writing and give it an opportunity to object before making available a tokenized share from an unaffiliated third party. The SEC imposed limits on the number of tokens and trading volume, and required the platform to halt trading in a tokenized share whenever trading in the underlying share is halted on its primary listing exchange. OKX said access will be limited to eligible U.S. customers who have activated a CeDeFi wallet and completed registration and identity verification, subject to other geographic and eligibility conditions. The company said the platform operates under a temporary SEC exemption and is not a registered exchange or broker-dealer, nor is it approved by the SEC.
Nasdaq objected to the exemption, with its chief legal and regulatory officer, John Zecca, saying, "Our greatest concern is that the innovation exemption allows tokenized securities to trade outside the government-regulated National Market System." Zecca warned that this path could lead to market fragmentation. The objection centers on trading securities outside the regulated national system, while OKXICE’s launch puts the temporary framework to a practical test before its set term expires. The SEC says tokenization could affect core functions of market infrastructure, including issuance, trading, transfer, settlement and ownership registration, with the potential to lower costs, improve transparency and expand liquidity. The public comments requested by the SEC remain part of its consideration of possible amendments and next steps.