Twenty-two public companies have formally objected to the inclusion of their shares in a planned tokenized stock trading venue developed by crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The latest update, dated October 23, added six names including Wells Fargo, Cisco Systems, Marvell Technology, Arm Holdings, Moderna and Intuit, raising the total from 16 objectors reported days earlier and nine on October 15.

The joint venture, known as OKXICE TSV and owned equally by Intercontinental Exchange and OKX’s U.S. holding company, intends to allow approved users to trade tokenized versions of U.S. stocks around the clock. Trading would occur through Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX’s XLayer blockchain and settle in stablecoins such as USDC. The platform is designed to operate under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s innovation exemption.

The first proposed group of stocks covers 63 U.S. companies. Issuers that receive notice of potential tokenization have a 30-day window to submit written objections. Notices published by the venue list the objecting firms but do not explain their reasons or detail the precise effect of an objection on whether the corresponding tokens can still be offered.

Growing Roster of Objectors

Earlier objectors include Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Verizon, Broadcom, UnitedHealth Group, Qualcomm, Caterpillar, McDonald’s and Western Digital. Wells Fargo becomes the second major U.S. bank on the list after Goldman Sachs. The technology and semiconductor contingent has expanded notably with the addition of Cisco, Marvell and Arm alongside existing names such as Microsoft, Broadcom and Qualcomm.

Separately, Nasdaq has indicated it will opt its own shares out of the innovation exemption framework.

Nonprofit Ad Campaign Warns of Risks

A full-page advertisement funded by the Common Sense Leadership Fund, a U.S.-based nonprofit, appeared in a weekend business section on October 24-25. The ad carried the slogan “YOUR STOCK. THEIR TOKENS. YOUR PROBLEM” and urged public-company chief executives to file written objections within 30 days of receiving notice.

The advertisement outlined eight potential concerns. These included the possibility that token prices could diverge from prices of the underlying shares on regulated exchanges, difficulty identifying shareholders through blockchain addresses, reduced ability for companies to raise capital through traditional share offerings, risks of cyber theft and market manipulation, gaps in anti-money-laundering and customer-verification controls, limited investor protections, and potential legal liability for companies that fail to opt out if tokens lose their link to the underlying shares or the project encounters problems.

Platform Disclosures and Operational Features

Public notices from the venue describe several operational characteristics and limitations. Trading can be paused when the corresponding traditional stock is halted, yet the platform does not employ additional circuit breakers. It has no policies addressing maximal extractable value arising from the reordering of blockchain transactions. Smart contracts may be upgraded by administrators without advance notice to users, and the contract that governs trading eligibility has undergone only an internal audit.

The notices also state that broker-dealers considering participation face unresolved questions regarding trade reporting and best-execution obligations, factors that could affect liquidity.

The venture has indicated it can list shares tokenized either by the issuers themselves or by external parties. None of the companies that have objected appear so far to have pursued issuer-led tokenization.

Demand for tokenized stocks exists particularly during hours when traditional markets are closed, according to recent analysis, though such markets have been characterized as remaining volatile and relatively illiquid.