Oct 18, 2026, 7:28 p.m. EDT
2 min read
Summary
- Broadcom, Verizon, and UnitedHealth are among nine corporations resisting the inclusion of their equities on the upcoming tokenized-stock exchange managed by OKXICE.
- This marketplace would leverage the SEC five-year Innovation Exemption to facilitate 24/7 trading of blockchain equities backed one-to-one by traditional shares.
- Corporate pushback and hesitation regarding this short-term regulatory structure could restrict available asset selections and deter institutional participation in tokenized trading architecture.
The Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory design for digital equities is meeting resistance from corporations whose assets could be listed, with Broadcom (AVGO), Verizon (VZ), and UnitedHealth (UNH) joining the list of opposing issuers.
Eight newly revealed objections emerged within an October 15 public disclosure by OKXICE, a partnership between digital asset exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, as they ready their tokenized equity marketplace.
Alongside Broadcom, Verizon, and UnitedHealth, the filing highlights AppLovin (APP), Applied Digital (APLD), Rocket Lab (RKLB), CoreWeave (CRWV), and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI).
In total, nine dissenting issuers are cataloged, including AI hardware creator Cerebras Systems (CBRS), which previously opted out of the listings officially. The announcement omitted reasons explaining why these companies objected or the exact dates they submitted their filings.
Separately, Nasdaq (NDAQ) stated it would decline having its equities tokenized through this structure, as detailed in an FAQ published on its corporate website.
A Nasdaq representative informed the Wall Street Journal that the company objects to trading its equities on a platform that fails to provide real-time optimal pricing or report transactions to the consolidated tape, which compiles stock exchange activity. Nasdaq is not listed among the nine corporate entities specified in the OKXICE disclosure.
Path to onchain stock trading
OKXICE announced on October 5 that it informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding its objective to open the exchange, initially focusing on securities from 63 American companies. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, serving as co-chair for the venture, shared the update via X.
The exchange plans to function under the SEC five-year Innovation Exemption, granted on September 17, which permits authorized platforms to trade tokenized American equities via automated market makers and liquidity pools.
Tokenized shares represent blockchain-based versions of corporate equities. OKXICE intends to operate continuously using Uniswap v4 liquidity pools across the OKX XLayer network, with transactions cleared through stablecoins.
Based on the structure outlined in the disclosure, underlying securities would be maintained one-for-one against circulating tokens via a registered broker-dealer. Participants holding tokens must secure equivalent privileges, encompassing dividends and voting authority.
Issuer doubts
This pushback from issuers mirrors conclusions drawn by TD Securities analysts directed by Reid Noch, vice president of U.S. equity market structure.
Interactions with numerous issuers revealed minimal enthusiasm for tokenizing corporate shares outside a select cohort of crypto-aligned businesses, analysts noted in an overview distributed to CoinDesk. Furthermore, several corporations approached the firm with grave anxieties after learning about the framework, having remained uninformed when the initiative debuted, the document reported.
TD Securities pointed to the framework dependence on temporary regulatory relief, instead of permanent mandates, as the primary barrier. A succeeding commission could alter this stance, complicating justifications for capital allocation toward infrastructure and discouraging institutional players from connecting with marketplaces post-launch, analysts stated.
Such ambiguity proves particularly burdensome when international platforms continue providing synthetic equity options free from the compliance obligations tied to U.S. exemptions, they observed.
Originally published at https://www.coindesk.com/business/2026/10/18/sec-tokenized-stock-framework-faces-issuer-pushback-as-broadcom-verizon-object-to-okx-ice-listing.
