Microsoft, Alphabet and Goldman Push Back Against OKX-ICE
Qualcomm, Caterpillar, and McDonald’s are also objecting to tokenized shares on the OKX-ICE platform. SEC rules are meant to make blockchain trading possible, but issuers are holding back.
Key Takeaways
- Microsoft, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs are objecting to tradable token versions of their shares on OKX-ICE.
- Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, and Western Digital are also listed as objectors in the updated notice.
- That brings the total number of publicly reported objections to OKX and ICE’s planned platform to 16 companies.
Microsoft, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs have objected to tradable token versions of their shares on OKX-ICE. That adds to the pushback from issuers against the planned trading platform from crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange.
More Companies File Objections
The updated public notice from October 19 also lists Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s, and Western Digital as new objectors. That brings the total number of publicly reported objections to 16 companies, up from nine in last week’s notice.
The documents do not say why the companies are objecting, or exactly when they filed those objections. The list does show, though, that a large share of the issuers involved do not want their shares to appear on the platform in token form.
What OKX-ICE Wants to Do
OKX-ICE announced its plans on October 5 and wants to operate under the SEC’s five-year Innovation Exemption. The rule is meant to be a temporary and conditional framework for tokenized stocks on public blockchains, with room for trading platforms to work through automated market makers and liquidity pools.
The SEC introduced that framework on September 17. It is meant to make trading in tokenized National Market System shares possible on blockchain platforms. For the crypto market, that matters because it is a rare attempt to connect crypto infrastructure to the American stock market. The SEC’s recent move toward tokenized stocks also shows how quickly that market is moving now.
A Signal for the Market
The growing list of objections shows that the new rules do not automatically lead to broad acceptance from issuers. For European crypto readers, this is especially relevant because tokenized stocks are often pitched as a bridge between traditional markets and blockchain. How smoothly that bridge works in practice depends not just on technology and regulation, but also on whether companies are willing to take part.
