Wall Street's tokenization push has run into resistance from the very companies it aims to bring onchain. Tokenization—the issuance of blockchain-based representations of existing securities—has become a flashpoint between crypto-native venues and traditional exchanges over who sets the terms for onchain equities. As of Monday, 50 publicly traded companies had filed objections to OKX-ICE's plan to tokenize their shares, ahead of the November 3 deadline under the SEC's Innovation Exemption. According to a report by Crypto in America, Nasdaq representatives may have encouraged listed companies to oppose the proposal.

50 Companies File Objections

The objections include filings from JPMorgan, Walmart, Nvidia, Coca-Cola and Goldman Sachs. Notably, 43 of the objecting companies appeared on OKX-ICE's original list of 62 proposed issuers, meaning nearly 70% of the venture's proposed issuers have pushed back.

The companies cited concerns about share prices, liquidity, volatility, shareholder rights, custody and market transparency. However, Crypto in America reported that Nasdaq may also have influenced some of the objections. An executive at a Nasdaq-listed company said a Nasdaq representative suggested filing an objection and offered a call to explain the exchange's position. A Nasdaq spokesperson declined to address the allegation but reiterated the exchange's opposition to the TSV framework.

The scale of the pushback also illustrates a structural feature of the Innovation Exemption: ventures proceed through a public notice period in which issuers can formally object, so a tokenization plan of this size depends on winning over companies that never opted in.

Nasdaq and Kraken Pursue an Alternative Path

Nasdaq has argued that tokenized securities venues are not the best approach. Earlier this year, the exchange partnered with Kraken to develop the Nasdaq Equity Token, a project aimed at bringing stocks onchain within existing securities regulations. The pairing shows the competition is less a fight over whether stocks go onchain than over which venue and regulatory route gets to lead that transition.

Nasdaq also denied involvement in a Wall Street Journal advertisement urging companies to reject tokenization. The advertisement was paid for by a conservative-leaning nonprofit whose ultimate funding source remains unclear. Nasdaq said it neither contributed to the group nor authorized its FAQ's use.

Andrew Cuomo, who leads the OKX-ICE venture, described the competition as a direct contest. Speaking Thursday, he said the advertisement meant "game on."

SEC Exemption Faces Questions as Deadline Arrives

The wave of objections has raised questions about the SEC experiment's ability to attract issuers. Former SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce had previously expressed expectations of broad interest, while Figure CEO Mike Cagney questioned whether widespread opt-outs would undermine the sandbox.

Nineteen companies on OKX-ICE's original list had not objected. The venture's initial 30-day notice period expires November 3, although individual objection windows may vary, making the remaining issuer decisions and TSV's launch the next checkpoints for the experiment.

Meanwhile, rival TSV LLC expects tokenized Canton Strategic Holdings shares to begin trading as early as Monday. Unlike OKX-ICE, TSV has the issuer's backing and avoids the separate objection process, though its launch initially involves just one company affiliated with its Canton Network.