IBM, Intel and Oracle Join Wave of Objections to OKX-ICE Tokenized Stocks

These four technology firms join a significant group of objectors that includes Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, and Wells Fargo. The pushback highlights a broader industry conflict regarding the SEC’s current regulatory framework, which utilizes an opt-out mechanism rather than requiring affirmative consent from issuers before their securities are tokenized by third parties.

Under the SEC’s September 17 innovation exemption, companies are granted 30 calendar days to block unaffiliated venues from offering blockchain-based versions of their equity. While this process does not ban tokenization outright, it forces platforms like the OKX-ICE joint venture—a collaboration between the crypto exchange and the New York Stock Exchange owner—to navigate a narrowing list of eligible assets. Industry groups, including the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, have lobbied regulators to shift toward a mandatory consent model and extend the objection window to 90 days.

The OKX-ICE platform, which initially identified 63 prospective securities for trading on the X Layer blockchain, must now reconcile its operational plans with these mounting exclusions. Although the platform intends to mirror the rights and privileges of conventional shares, the increasing resistance from major tech and finance issuers underscores the tension between decentralized trading ambitions and traditional corporate control over equity listings.