Securitize CEO Says WSJ Anti-Tokenization Ad Benefits Regulated Firms
Key Takeaways
- •Carlos Domingo said the advertisement improperly combines regulated tokenization with offshore synthetic products.
- •The Common Sense Leadership Fund urged CEOs to reject blockchain-based stock copies within the SEC’s 30-day response period.
- •Twenty-six issuers have reportedly objected to listings by OKXICE, including IBM, Oracle, Intel, and IonQ.
- •Nasdaq said it would opt out because OKXICE lacks real-time best-price display and consolidated-tape reporting.
- •Tokenized stocks have surpassed $3.7 billion in total value.
Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo called a full-page Wall Street Journal advertisement opposing stock tokenization “misleading,” arguing that the campaign could benefit regulated companies such as his own, Cryptopolitan reported.
Domingo blames offshore synthetics for the backlash
“This ad is misleading; it mixes tokenization with how it is done and where those tokens trade,” Domingo wrote on X on Monday. His post continued: “None of those concerns apply to proper tokenization done in the US under SEC regulations and traded on regulated venues.”
“This is the damage that offshore synthetics are doing to the industry and the backlash they are creating,” Domingo wrote. “I see this as a tailwind for companies like ours doing it the right way, which was never easy, but it’s a durable long-term business model.”
Securitize is publicly traded and tokenizes securities for conventional issuers.
Gabriel Shapiro, a co-founder of MetaLeX, wrote that Robinhood, Kraken, and Coinbase could eventually hold swing votes for token buyers who cannot vote. “Public companies will care about this more than crypto people expect,” Shapiro wrote on X.
Common Sense fund urges CEOs to use a 30-day veto
“Your stock. Their tokens. Your problem,” the advertisement said. It appeared on page B5 of the Journal’s business section in the weekend edition of October 24 and 25.
The ad said crypto would soon “tokenize” shares on unregulated venues. A photograph of the printed page was posted on X on October 25, one day before Domingo responded.
The advertisement was financed by the Common Sense Leadership Fund, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization founded in 2021 and based in Arlington, Virginia.
It urged public company CEOs to use a 30-day window to object to blockchain-based copies of their shares. The ad cited price differences between venues, hidden token holders, restricted access to capital, cybersecurity exposure, and market manipulation. It also warned that CEOs could be held liable for “anything that goes wrong.”
The 30-day window comes from the SEC’s Innovation Exemption, an order issued on September 17 that runs through September 17, 2031. Any venue seeking to list a company’s stock as a token created by another party must notify the company first.
If a company does not respond to the platform’s notice within 30 days, it is considered to have agreed to the listing of its stock as a token. An objection blocks only the platform that sent the notice; any other platform must issue its own notice.
According to Cryptopolitan, 26 issuers have already objected to OKXICE, a 50-50 venture between NYSE owner Intercontinental Exchange and OKX. IBM, Oracle, Intel, and IonQ were added to the list on October 27, following Microsoft, Alphabet, and Goldman Sachs. Related reporting has detailed the latest objections, while earlier reporting covered the preceding list.
Nasdaq has said it will opt its own shares out as well because OKXICE does not display the best prices in real time or report to the consolidated tape.
Tokenized stocks have surpassed $3.7 billion in value.
