OKXICE moves ahead with tokenized stocks as blue chips push back
Crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will launch tokenized stock trading on Nov. 23, offering US customers round-the-clock trading despite objections from 67 companies and warnings from Nasdaq about fragmented liquidity.
The platform, OKXICE, will operate under the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s temporary Innovation Exemption, which requires venues to give companies a chance to object before listing shares tokenized by an unaffiliated third party.
JPMorgan Chase, McDonald’s, SpaceX and Coca-Cola were among the 67 companies that objected to having their shares listed on the new platform.
Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based tokens that represent company shares or track their price, with rights depending on their structure.
The distributed value of tokenized stocks and ETFs reached $3.88 billion on Nov. 11, up 13.4% over 30 days.
investors would have “the same rights, protections and ownership that come with the underlying shares.”
OKX expects the venue to list more than 70 assets, including 59 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and tokenized shares of Coinbase, Circle, BitGo, Robinhood and Strategy.
The lineup also includes Strategy’s preferred shares.
Liquidity and Volatility Concerns
The rollout comes amid concerns that trading the same shares across traditional exchanges and blockchain platforms could split liquidity and make prices less reliable.
In October, a study by the International Monetary Fund found that tokenized stocks were about 1.5 times as volatile as the same stocks in traditional markets.
Decentralized exchanges had the weakest liquidity and their prices strayed further from those in traditional markets than prices on centralized exchanges did.
The IMF also warned that combining trading and settlement on a blockchain could remove safeguards that help markets absorb shocks.
As tokenized markets grow, greater use of leverage and closer links between markets could amplify fire sales, liquidity runs and financial contagion.
trading tokenized stocks on platforms outside traditional rails could fragment liquidity and make it harder for investors to get the best available price.
Regular US stock trading runs from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern time on weekdays, excluding market holidays, though some brokers offer premarket, after-hours and overnight trading.
Now we are bringing that standard to equities, without asking investors to settle for synthetic exposure or give up their shareholder rights,” he said.
Andrew Cuomo described the current market structure as “built for another era,” arguing that crypto markets had already shown that trading could run around the clock.
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