Walmart joins 38 companies refusing tokenized trading of their shares on OKX-ICE venue - eGamers.io
Walmart has become the latest major company to object to tokenized trading of its shares on the OKX-ICE venue, bringing the total number of objectors to thirty-eight.
OKXICE TSV published an updated notice on Wednesday listing five new objectors: Walmart, Eli Lilly, Cigna Group, Carnival and Arcos Dorados. This brings the total number of companies refusing tokenized trading of their shares to thirty-eight, up from thirty-three just a day earlier.
Growing Opposition
The list of objecting companies has expanded rapidly since the venue first published it on October 15 with nine names. It grew to sixteen by October 19, with Microsoft among them, and reached twenty-two when Wells Fargo objected on October 23. The current count represents more than four times the initial figure.
The newest round of objections extends beyond tech and finance, adding companies from retail, health care and travel sectors. Arcos Dorados, Latin America's largest McDonald's franchisee, now appears alongside McDonald's, which objected earlier this month.
Legal Mechanism
These objections carry significant legal weight under SEC regulations. After the Clarity Act stalled in the Senate, the SEC introduced its innovation exemption in September. This framework requires venues to notify companies before offering tokenized versions of their shares by unaffiliated third parties.
According to the SEC's order, a written objection from the company within 30 days means the venue can't make the stock available for trading. The restriction applies only to that one venue.
Future Possibilities
The joint venture between Intercontinental Exchange (owner of NYSE) and OKX's U.S. holding company plans to allow approved users to trade tokenized U.S. stocks 24 hours a day. Trading would occur in permissioned Uniswap v4 pools on OKX's XLayer blockchain, with stocks paired against stablecoins like USDC.
Several actively traded stocks including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple and Amazon haven't filed objections yet, leaving open the possibility they could join the list. The venue has also indicated it can list shares that companies tokenize themselves, though no such listings have been announced to date.
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