One of the cryptocurrency industry’s most ambitious efforts to bring traditional equities onto the blockchain is running into resistance from some of the very companies whose shares it hopes to list.

OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, planned to tokenize 63 stocks through their joint venture, OKXICE. Nearly a third of the proposed issuers are now objecting.

Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based representations of conventional shares, intended to combine exposure to public equities with the accessibility of digital-asset markets. The model has drawn interest from trading platforms seeking to bridge traditional securities infrastructure with crypto rails.

22 Companies Push Back

Six additional companies, including Wells Fargo, Arm Holdings and Intuit, have objected to having tokenized versions of their shares listed on OKXICE, according to regulatory filings reviewed by Reuters. The latest objections bring the total number of dissenting companies to 22.

Microsoft and Alphabet are among the other companies that have declined to participate. Sixteen of the objecting companies are listed on Nasdaq, while the remaining six trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The filings do not disclose the reasons behind the individual objections.

The objections have accumulated over successive filings — the latest six lifted the total from 16 to 22 — leaving 41 of the 63 proposed issuers that have yet to object. Under the SEC’s new rules, issuer approval functions as a gatekeeper. Tokenized trading platforms may notify companies of their intention to offer tokenized versions of their stock, but they are prohibited from proceeding if a company objects within the designated window. The approach gives listed companies direct say over whether their shares can circulate in tokenized form on U.S. venues.

Issuers Hold a Direct Veto

The objection mechanism is built into the SEC’s September “innovation exemption,” a framework crafted to provide a regulated pathway for tokenization on the National Market System. The temporary framework is intended to preserve the same rights and privileges that attach to a security, such as dividends and voting rights. Before third-party tokenized shares can trade, tokenized trading venues must afford issuers a formal opportunity to object. Because the framework is newly in place, the accumulating objections amount to an early, real-world demonstration of that consent gate at work.

That safeguard distinguishes the U.S. version of tokenized stocks from many offshore products, in which investors can obtain only synthetic exposure to a share without any actual voting rights.

24/7 Stock Trading Push Meets a Corporate Wall

Tokenization has been touted as a means of enabling around-the-clock trading, faster settlement, and programmable market construction. The SEC has created a framework that allows experimentation, and OKXICE is already registered as one of the firms that announced it will operate under the tokenized securities exemption.\nRegulatory approval, however, does not ensure that issuers will be willing participants. For OKXICE, 22 objections against a projected universe of 63 stocks represent a considerable commercial challenge. The platform could still launch with shares from companies that have not objected, but its momentum could be dulled if major issuers continue to stay away. Additional objection filings — and any changes to the proposed lineup — will indicate how much of the original 63-stock plan survives.

The standoff also underscores a broader tension within tokenized finance: crypto companies want to bring traditional securities onto the blockchain, while issuers are wary of the implications of fragmented liquidity, price discovery, and on-chain trading in securities markets.

This article is based on reporting first published by CryptoNinjas, citing regulatory filings reviewed by Reuters.