# Issuer Pushback Puts Rival Tokenized Stock Models in Focus

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/47798
Published: 2026-11-03T15:41:06.000Z
Updated: 2026-11-03T15:41:06.000Z
Section: Regulation

> OKXICE’s Oct. 30 notice lists 50 issuers that objected to its proposed venue. SEC rules limit each objection to the venue receiving it.

The contest over tokenized U.S. stocks is sharpening around issuer control: whether companies can keep third-party digital versions of their shares off a crypto-led venue, and whether tokenization should run through established exchange infrastructure.

An Oct. 30 public notice from OKXICE, a joint venture involving OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, listed 50 companies that had filed objections to trading tokenized versions of their shares on its proposed venue. The notice names issuers including Nvidia, Walmart, Coca-Cola, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs, but does not explain why they objected.

The dispute comes under a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) order issued Sept. 17. The temporary, conditional framework gives issuers up to 30 calendar days after receiving written notice to object to a third party’s plan to tokenize their stock for a particular venue. A timely objection blocks that token from trading on that venue. The order does not make an objection a marketwide ban on tokenization.

OKXICE’s notice describes permissioned automated market maker pools on XLayer, where tokenized shares would trade against supported payment stablecoins. The objections therefore highlight a test for that venue’s proposed structure and issuer participation; the public filings do not establish that the companies reject tokenization in general.

Nasdaq is pursuing a different model. In March, the SEC approved Nasdaq’s plan to trade eligible tokenized securities alongside traditional shares, applying the same order priority and using the Depository Trust Company for token settlement after execution. Nasdaq said in September that it had agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, Kraken’s parent, and expects its Nasdaq Equity Tokens framework to launch in the second quarter of 2027.

On Nov. 2, an unnamed executive at a Nasdaq-listed company said a Nasdaq representative encouraged the company to object to OKXICE’s plan and offered a call to explain why. Nasdaq declined to comment on the alleged outreach.

An advertisement urging companies to object also drew scrutiny after its QR code linked to a Nasdaq FAQ. Nasdaq said it had not contributed to the group that paid for the ad and had not authorized the FAQ link.

The objections put issuer participation and market design at the center of the rollout. The Oct. 30 list records opposition to one proposed venue; the SEC framework leaves companies to weigh each venue’s structure and the terms under which their shares would be represented.