IBM, Oracle, Intel and IonQ have objected to OKXICE offering blockchain-based versions of their shares, bringing the total number of objecting issuers to 26. The growing list underscores a hurdle for the venture and the SEC's new framework: building a market that issuers are willing to join.
IBM, Oracle, Intel and IonQ have opted out of plans by crypto exchange OKX and NYSE parent Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) to offer blockchain-based trading of their shares. The four names lift the total number of issuer objections to 26.
An updated notice names four more issuers
OKXICE, the two firms' joint venture, named the companies in an updated public notice dated Monday, Oct. 26. They join earlier objectors including Microsoft, Alphabet, Goldman Sachs, Cisco and Wells Fargo.
The total has climbed from nine on Oct. 15, though the notices don't explain the objections or their effect, according to Decrypt.
All four new objectors were among the 62 companies in OKXICE's original proposed roster. Objections from that selection now stand at 23, or about 37%, according to a CoinDesk tally.
How the SEC framework tilts toward opting out
The SEC's five-year "Innovation Exemption" gives qualifying venues room to test round-the-clock blockchain-based trading of stocks. It also gives public companies 30 days to block their shares from being offered.
Industry experts told CoinDesk that objecting costs nothing, while staying silent allows trading to begin without a way to withdraw consent later. The financial benefit for issuers is also uncertain, and TD Securities' Reid Noch previously told CoinDesk that tokenization could bring extra demand, particularly from overseas investors, but may not offset concerns about thin, round-the-clock trading.
What OKXICE plans to build
OKXICE issued its initial public notice on Oct. 4. It outlined Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on OKX's XLayer blockchain, with transactions settled in stablecoins.
Co-chairman Andrew Cuomo previously described the objections as expected, with many companies rather "wait and see how it goes rather than be the first to participate".
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