Robinhood Supports Stock Tokenization on OKX-ICE as 67 Companies Push Back

Robinhood has confirmed it did not object to its shares being tokenized on OKX-ICE. The venue is being built by Intercontinental Exchange and OKX's US holding company to trade American stocks 24 hours a day. It is one of only six names on the venture's original list that is still unopposed. Apple and Meta Platforms objected in an updated notice dated Thursday.

• Robinhood has confirmed it did not object to its stock trading on OKX-ICE, joining Securitize and BitGo as the only companies known to have said so.
• 67 issuers had objected as of the venture's Nov. 5 notice, up from nine when the first objectors appeared on Oct. 15.
• OKX-ICE has five business days to publish an objection, so one received on Nov. 3 can still appear on the list as late as Nov. 10.

If you wanted to trade a tokenized Apple or Tesla share on OKX-ICE, the notice rule is what stands in the way. The venue is relying on a temporary SEC exemption. It requires the venue to give an issuer written notice and a chance to object before listing a third-party tokenized version of its stock. An objection keeps the name off the list. Objections now cover 57 of the 63 share classes the venture named in October. The total number of companies saying no has reached 67.

What the SEC Order Actually Says

OKX-ICE is a 50-50 joint venture between Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, and OKX's US holding company. It plans to offer tokenized US stocks 24 hours a day through permissioned pools on OKX's X Layer blockchain. An outside "tokenizer" holds the real shares one-for-one through a registered broker-dealer. Settlement is in stablecoins such as USDC, USDG and USDT.

The venue runs on an order the SEC issued in September. It grants temporary, conditional relief from the definition of "exchange" so tokenized securities venues can trade tokenized National Market System stock. Those trades use permissioned automated market makers and liquidity pools. The SEC called it the "Innovation Exemption" and asked for public comment on all of it. It expires five years after publication.

The clause doing the work is the notice requirement: "before making available for trading a tokenized NMS stock that is tokenized by an unaffiliated third party, the TSV must provide written notice and an opportunity to object to the issuer of the underlying NMS stock." A venue must also verify the token gives holders the same rights and privileges as the traditional shares. The SEC limits how many symbols and how much volume it can trade.

SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins said the order was "a significant step forward, within its statutory authority, to bring America's capital markets into the digital age", in the agency's announcement.

Why Robinhood Is the One Saying Yes

Robinhood's existing stock tokens are a different product. They are derivatives offered through an offshore entity and track share prices without granting shareholder rights. The company has warned before that SEC limits could slow its stock-token expansion.

During the dispute over AMC-linked tokens, its co-founder and CEO, Vlad Tenev, argued that issuers should not have veto power over stock-token offerings. AMC Entertainment's chief executive, Adam Aron, warned in September that he might pursue legal action. He said the tokens used AMC's name without permission and denied holders shareholder rights.

Andrew Cuomo, co-chairman of OKX-ICE, has said firms outside the initial selection have reached out about joining the venue. He did not name them or say how many.

The Objection Binds One Venue, Not the Token

An issuer objection applies only to the venue that received it. Apple saying no to OKX-ICE does not stop a tokenized Apple share from being listed somewhere else. Coinbase launched tokenized stocks for non-US users on its Base network in August. It is not on the objection list, along with Robinhood and Strategy.

What Comes Next

The list can still change. OKX-ICE has five business days to publish an objection, so one received on Nov. 3 can appear as late as Nov. 10. The exemption itself is temporary, running five years from publication.

What is already clear is the shape of the venue. The companies that did not object are the ones with crypto or tokenization businesses of their own. The open question is whether that is enough to fill a marketplace built to trade the biggest US stocks.