Intercontinental Exchange, the company behind the NYSE, has joined forces with OKX to create a new trading platform for tokenized US stocks, and they have approached the SEC for approval to proceed. The joint venture known as OKXICE LLC, formed by cryptocurrency exchange operator OKX and the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, Intercontinental Exchange Inc., has submitted paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission seeking approval to start a tokenized securities venue, or TSV. The filing came through the SEC’s newly established innovation exemption, which permits specific forms of trading that traditional exchanges cannot provide.
OKXICE co-chair Andrew Cuomo said the platform would list more than 60 companies traded on US stock exchanges. The public notice from Oct. 4 includes 63 proposed stock symbols, among them Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla, along with crypto firms such as Strategy, Coinbase, Circle and Bitgo.
The Joint Venture Behind the Platform
OKX and Intercontinental Exchange formed a 50-50 joint venture in June to build infrastructure for tokenized financial products. The new platform will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on XLayer. Each tokenized stock would come paired with USDC (USDC), Global Dollar (USDG) or USDt (USDT). The joint venture brings together two very different kinds of businesses — a major stock exchange operator and a leading cryptocurrency exchange — each contributing half of the capital and effort.
Cuomo said the move is part of a broader shift in finance. “The digital asset revolution is already transforming our financial system,” he said. “Tokenized securities are part of what comes next.”
What the Innovation Exemption Covers
The innovation exemption permits TSVs to run permissioned trading of tokenized NMS stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. The SEC’s temporary exemption, issued in September, permitted limited trading of tokenized US stocks on particular onchain venues. This filing relies upon that exemption as its legal foundation.
The exemption gives the SEC the power to examine the application closely before deciding whether to approve it. Approval would allow the trading to begin under the terms of the carve-out, which permits specific forms of trading that traditional exchanges cannot provide.
Why This Matters for Investors
The roster of suggested tokens displays a wide array of corporate names, with tech giants like Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla standing next to crypto firms including Strategy, Coinbase, Circle and Bitgo. This combination points to a design meant to draw in both crypto traders and conventional investors alike.
The mix of technology and crypto firms suggests the platform aims to appeal to a broad audience rather than a narrow one. It could serve as a bridge between the crypto world and traditional markets, letting traders hold tokenized versions of familiar US stocks alongside crypto assets.
What Comes Next
The document seeks approval rather than announcing a schedule. Under the innovation exemption’s terms, the SEC will examine the application, though the agency has given no indication of when its response will come. The filing itself does not set a deadline for launch; it simply asks the SEC to rule on whether the platform can operate at all.
The platform’s design reflects a bet on continuous trading. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, means it is available whenever a trader wants to move. That non-stop availability is a key feature of the design, distinguishing it from exchanges that close for weekends or holidays.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs narrow disclosure rules against hidden safety failures and is against federal licensing and broad new rules that would lock out smaller competitors. In this case, the SEC’s innovation exemption lets the agency examine the application closely before deciding whether to approve it — a targeted approach that fits the paper’s preference for oversight aimed at actual harm rather than a broad new rulebook.
The joint venture between Intercontinental Exchange and OKX, operating as OKXICE LLC, seeks approval to run a tokenized securities venue, or TSV. The filing rests on a carve-out that permits specific forms of trading traditional exchanges cannot provide, and the SEC’s examination is the check on whether the platform can operate at all.
What matters here is that the exemption is narrow and targeted. The SEC gets to look closely at the application before deciding, and the decision rests on whether the platform can operate at all — not on a new rulebook that would favor the biggest firms.
Key Facts Box
- Filing made under the SEC’s innovation exemption
- Proposed symbols: 63, including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Strategy, Coinbase, Circle and Bitgo
- Stablecoin pairs: USDC, Global Dollar (USDG), USDt (USDT)
- Co-chair: Andrew Cuomo
- Joint venture: 50-50 split between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange
- Temporary exemption: Issued in September by the SEC
The SEC has created an exception for TSVs to permit restricted trading of tokenized NMS stocks using automated market makers and liquidity pools. This carve-out was crafted deliberately by regulators, giving the SEC the authority to examine the application and decide whether the platform can operate.
Intercontinental Exchange and OKX are placing their money on tokenized stocks becoming a standard feature of investing. The filing moves the wager closer to reality.
Source material: “OKX, NYSE parent file to launch tokenized US stock platform,” Cointelegraph.
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