- Issuer Objections: Microsoft and Alphabet oppose blockchain versions of their shares on proposed venue OKXICE, limiting its planned stock offering.
- Venue Limits: Under U.S. securities rules, timely issuer objections prevent trading on that venue; other platforms require separate notices.
- Shareholder Rights: The proposal requires dividends and voting rights to pass through broker-backed tokens, leaving holders dependent on intermediaries.
- Other Offerings: Securitize lists interests in broker-held Microsoft and Alphabet shares on a separate platform, which launched with extended trading hours.
Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet have objected to blockchain versions of their shares trading on OKXICE, a proposed round-the-clock market. Their objections limit which stocks prospective token buyers could trade there under a conditional U.S. securities exemption.
OKXICE is a joint venture between New York Stock Exchange parent Intercontinental Exchange and cryptocurrency exchange OKX. Its October 19 disclosure lists 16 objecting companies. The venue remained forthcoming on its website on October 22.
The original proposal covered 62 companies, of which 15 objected. Cerebras, which was outside that roster, brings the disclosed objections to 16. The remaining 47 companies had no disclosed objection. Microsoft and Alphabet’s reasons were not disclosed.
How an Issuer’s Objection Stops a Listing
The Securities and Exchange Commission’s September 17 exemptive order gives qualifying tokenized-stock venues conditional relief from exchange-registration requirements. The relief runs until September 17, 2031.
For tokens created by an unaffiliated third party, a venue must notify the company whose shares are represented. Trading must wait at least 30 calendar days after the issuer receives that notice. A written objection delivered within that period prevents the venue from offering the affected token under the exemption. The venue then has five business days to disclose the objection publicly. The 30-day period runs separately for each issuer and venue.
What Token Holders Would Receive
OKXICE’s proposed tokens represent security entitlements: interests in shares held through an intermediary. Under its described process, a tokenization provider arranges for a registered broker to acquire and hold an underlying share before issuing the corresponding token. Redemption cancels the token and returns shares or sale proceeds under the provider’s terms.
The SEC requires tokens traded under the exemption to carry the same rights as the corresponding share class, including dividends, votes and a share of residual assets if the company is liquidated. Proxy materials and issuer communications must reach holders without a charge to the issuer or shareholders.
The holder would receive those benefits through the provider and broker. Accurate custody records, reconciliation with token transfers and processing of corporate actions connect the wallet token to the underlying investment. If those intermediaries fail, holders can lose access to assets or the delivery of dividends and votes, even while controlling tokens in their own wallets.
The proposed trading system would exchange the stock token and its payment in one blockchain transaction. Payments would use stablecoins, digital assets designed to maintain a fixed monetary value. That simultaneous exchange addresses completion of the trade; the broker still holds the shares and the tokenization provider still delivers their associated rights.
Why Round-the-Clock Prices Could Diverge
OKXICE plans to use automated market makers, software that prices trades from the quantities of stock tokens and payment assets supplied to a pool. A purchase changes that balance and raises the pool’s token price; a sale moves it in the other direction. Thin pools or trading while the underlying stock market is closed can produce a different price from the ordinary share.
Law firm Morgan Lewis’s analysis explains how traders able to convert tokens or take offsetting positions could buy the cheaper exposure and sell the more expensive one. Whether that arbitrage works depends on conversion arrangements, liquidity, transaction costs and access. The firm also identifies possible overnight price discovery: token trading could help establish prices before conventional markets reopen.
The exemption applies separate limits to two groups of stocks, using classifications from U.S. market-volatility controls. A venue can trade both groups, subject to each group’s caps, and affiliated venues count together.
Trading Limits by Underlying Stock Category
| Underlying Stock Group | Maximum Symbols in the Group | Per-Token Share-Volume Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1: S&P 500 and Russell 1000 stocks, plus certain exchange-traded products | 75 | 0.25% |
| Tier 2: Other eligible stocks | 250 | 2.5% |
Each percentage compares a token’s average daily share volume with its underlying stock’s prior-month average daily share volume.
Token trading must stop when the underlying stock is halted or suspended.
Applied Optoelectronics, a maker of high-speed networking equipment, cited uncertainties about pricing, liquidity and volatility in explaining its objection. The company also worried investors could interpret the tokens as having its endorsement.
“At this stage, we don’t see a clear benefit to AOI or our shareholders that justifies these uncertainties,” a company spokesperson told Fortune.
Erin Martin, a partner at Morgan Lewis, said continuous trading would remove the usual closed-market pause during which companies release earnings or other news and investors digest it.
OKXICE cochair Andrew Cuomo characterized the objections as anticipated hesitation, suggesting companies could wait to see how the venture performs. Fortune received no answer from OKX about a start date or changes to launch plans.
Securitize’s Separate Share Entitlements
Securitize’s stock platform lists Microsoft shares and Alphabet Class A shares, identified as MSFT and GOOGL, among its available products.
It launched security entitlements through its existing brokerage infrastructure on the Solana blockchain on October 8, initially with extended trading hours. Like OKXICE’s proposal, the model passes through shareholder benefits. The underlying issuers did not sponsor or endorse the offering. Planned connections to the NYSE and OKXICE are separate future developments.
If an issuer adopts tokenization, holders could convert their broker-held interests into ownership recorded directly on the company’s shareholder register. Availability and timing for Microsoft and Alphabet remain unspecified.
SIFMA Seeks Broader Issuer Control
The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which represents securities firms, is asking for stronger issuer control. Its separate October 19 submission to the SEC seeks affirmative issuer consent, a longer objection period and a universal issuer opt-out.
In August 2025, OpenAI required prior written consent for transfers of its private equity, including tokenized interests. Under the SEC’s listed-stock process, a venue notifies an issuer and waits for any objection. SIFMA wants that arrangement changed so approval is required before trading can begin.
A universal opt-out would let issuers reject trading across venues without sending separate objections to each one. SIFMA says its requested changes require the Commission to amend the order.
