OKXICE, a joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and the New York Stock Exchange's parent company, has applied for SEC approval to trade tokenized public shares. The venture aims to provide 24-hour global access to US securities using blockchain technology.
The 63 NYSE-listed companies entering the tokenized arena
OKXICE LLC has formally filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a platform that will initially offer tokenized shares of 63 companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Bloomberg, this move allows OKXICE to be among the first entities to utilize a new regulatory framework that permits digital versions of public shares to trade on cryptocurrency venues.
The rollout is not immediate, as the SEC's current rules provide a 30-day window for issuers to opt out of the tokenization process before trading can officially commence. Andrew Cuomo , the former governor of New York and co-chair of OKXICE, noted that this notice period is intended to allow companies to understand the implications of this marketplace transformation.
How a $25 billion valuation bridged OKX and Intercontinental Exchange
The formation of OKXICE is the result of a strategic aligment between traditional finance and the digital asset world.. In March, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, acquired a stake in OKX in a transaction that valued the cryptocurrency firm at $25 billion. As Bloomberg reported, the two entities initially agreed to collaborate on US-regulated crypto futures before expanding into tokenized equities.
By pairing the blockchain infrastructure of OKX with the established market technology of Intercontinental Exchange, OKXICE seeks to eliminate the frictions of traditional trading. Andrew Cuomo argues that the use of smart contracts and liquidity pools represents a more efficient method of trading stocks compared to legacy systems, specifically by enabling a global, 24-hour trading cycle.
The SEC's temporary exemption after the Senate's Clarity Act failure
The emergence of OKXICE coincides with a shift in how the US government is approaching crypto regulation. The SEC recently issued a temporary exemption that allows blockchain-based securities to trade in the US , a move that comes after the US Senate failed to advance the highly anticipated Clarity Act... This legislative stalemate forced the SEC to take direct regulatory action to open crypto trading, which Bloomberg identifies as a key priority for President Donald Trump.
This regulatory pivot signals a broader trend where the US is attempting to maintain its financial dominance by integrating blockchain efficiency into the equity markets. By allowing tokenized shares, the US is effectively inviting a race between traditional exchanges and crypto platforms to define the next generation of securities trading.
Dividends and voting rights in the new digital asset model
To ensure these tokens are not merely speculative derivatives, the SEC has mandated that tokenized securities must provide full shareholder benefits. This means that holders of the digital assets on the OKXICE platform must receive the same dividends and voting rights as those holding traditional shares of the underlying public companies.
This requirement distinguishes the OKXICE model from other emerging strategies in the sector. While some firms may work directly with issuers, others are exploring models where tokens are created by third parties without the direct involvement of the original public companies . The OKXICE approach, backed by Intercontinental Exchange, leans toward a more regulated , issuer-aligned framework.
Who will opt out during the 30-day notice period?
Despite the optimism from OKXICE , several critical questions remain regarding corporate adoption. It is currently unknown how many of the 63 targeted NYSE-listed companies will exercise their right to opt out during the 30-day window, and whether a mass exit by blue-chip firms would undermine the platform's viability.
Furthermore, the source reporting focuses primarily on the OKXICE perspective; it remains unclear how other traditional exchanges, who may view this as a threat to their moat, will respond to the SEC's temporary exemption. There is also no detail on the specific technical standards OKXICE will use to ensure that voting rights are seamlessly transferred from the blockchain to the official corporate registries.
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