Newsletter
This brings the total number of companies opposed to the measure to 22, up from 9 on October 15th. However, these notifications do not explain the reasons behind their opposition, nor do they clarify what impact such opposition will have.
The latest public notice shows that six issuers, including Wells Fargo, Cisco Systems, and Marvell Technology, have been included in the list. This notice was updated and published by OKXICE TSV on Friday. Arm Holdings, Moderna, and Intuit are also among the newly added entities. As a result, the total number of companies that oppose this move has risen to 22, which is higher than the 16 on October 19th and the 9 on October 15th.
Companies that previously raised objections included Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Verizon, Broadcom, and UnitedHealth Group. There was no notification explaining the reasons for these companies' opposition, nor was there any clarification on how raising objections would affect whether a particular stock could be traded on that platform.
Wells Fargo has become the second large American bank on the list, following Goldman Sachs. Arm, Cisco, and Marvell have added more heavyweight companies in the chip and networking sectors to this list; which already includes technology firms such as Microsoft, Broadcom, and Qualcomm.
OKXICE TSV is a joint venture owned 50% each by Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and OKX US Holdings Corporation. It plans to allow approved users to trade tokenized US stocks around the clock. The trading will be conducted through the Uniswap liquidity pool on the XLayer blockchain of OKX, and will be paired with stablecoins such as USDC.
The trading venue plans to operate under the innovative exemption framework of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC introduced this framework in September, following delays with the Clarity Act proposal in the Senate. Since the notification was issued on October 19th, the platform has stated that it is capable of listing both stocks tokenized by issuers themselves and stocks tokenized by external parties. However, it seems that no opponents have yet chosen to pursue this route.
A notification warning states that brokerage traders conducting transactions on this platform are facing unresolved issues regarding transaction reporting and best execution, which may limit their participation and diminish liquidity. Administrators can also upgrade smart contracts without prior notice to users, and the contracts that determine who can trade are only subject to internal audits.
OKX and ICE first collaborated in the field of tokenized securities earlier this year and announced this exchange this month. Nasdaq, which has received approval from SEC to conduct its own tokenized securities pilot, stated that it will choose to withdraw its stocks from this exemption arrangement. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently found that there is indeed a real demand for tokenized stocks, especially during the non-trading hours after the stock market closes, but at the same time, it warns that this market is still highly volatile and lacks liquidity.
