OKX and NYSE owner ICE file for 24/7 trading of 63 tokenised US stocks: how the plan would work and what still stands in the way

Wall Street's oldest exchange brand and one of crypto's largest trading venues want US stocks to trade around the clock on a blockchain. Bloomberg reported on 4 October that OKXICE LLC, a 50-50 joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, filed paperwork seeking to use the Securities and Exchange Commission's new framework for tokenised stocks. The venture intends to start with shares of 63 NYSE-listed companies, according to the reported filing.

The plan is ambitious in its design. Trading would run 24 hours a day through permissioned liquidity pools on OKX's own blockchain network, with each tokenised stock paired against stablecoins. Crucially, the tokenised shares would preserve shareholder rights, including dividends and voting, distinguishing them from many existing offshore products. It is only a filing, and it cannot launch yet, but it is the clearest sign so far that traditional market operators intend to take tokenised equities mainstream.

How the OKXICE venue would work

According to the reporting, trading would operate around the clock through permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on X Layer, OKX's blockchain network. Uniswap v4 is a version of a widely used decentralised exchange protocol, and a permissioned pool restricts who can participate, allowing the venue to apply identity checks and compliance controls while using blockchain-based trading mechanics.

Each tokenised stock would be paired against stablecoins such as USDC, USDG or USDT. That means investors would buy and sell tokenised shares using digital dollars rather than through a traditional brokerage account settling in bank money. Settlement would be near instant, reflecting the speed of blockchain transfers.

The tokenised shares must preserve shareholder rights, including dividends and voting. That is a significant commitment. Many existing tokenised stock products offered offshore give holders economic exposure to a share's price but not the rights of a shareholder. A product that delivers full rights is much closer to owning the stock itself.

• Venture: OKXICE LLC, 50-50 between OKX and ICE.
• Scope: 63 NYSE-listed companies at launch, per the reported filing.
• Trading: 24/7 through permissioned Uniswap v4 pools on OKX's X Layer network.
• Settlement asset: stablecoins such as USDC, USDG or USDT.
• Rights: dividends and voting preserved.
• Issuer opt-out: 30 days before trading could begin.

The choice of a permissioned decentralised exchange design is a compromise between two worlds. Traditional exchanges match orders in a central order book run by the operator. Decentralised exchanges use automated liquidity pools governed by smart contracts. A permissioned pool keeps the efficiency and around-the-clock availability of the latter while letting the operator control who participates, which regulators require for securities trading.

The legal basis: the SEC's Innovation Exemption

The venue would rely on the SEC's Innovation Exemption, a framework that runs through 17 September 2031 and allows certain tokenised securities activity under defined conditions. Launch still depends on satisfying outstanding regulatory requirements, and some reports noted that the filing had not yet appeared in publicly searchable SEC records when checked.

Coverage also differs on the filing's legal form, with some describing it as a notification and others as an application. That distinction may matter for timing. What is consistent across reports is that the venture cannot begin trading until regulatory requirements are met and the issuer opt-out period has passed.

The opt-out is a notable feature. According to Bloomberg's reporting syndicated by Yahoo Finance, issuers on the initial list of 63 companies would have 30 days to opt out before trading could begin. That gives listed companies a say over whether their shares are tokenised on the venue, an important safeguard for issuers worried about how their stock is traded.

A stock that settles in stablecoins, trades at 3 a.m. and still pays its dividend. That is the product OKX and the NYSE's owner are trying to build.

Which stocks could be included

The reported initial list contains 63 NYSE-listed companies. One outlet named Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Coinbase as among the proposed names, while another noted that individual companies were not identified in the reporting it reviewed. Some of those names trade primarily on Nasdaq rather than the NYSE, so the final list should be treated as unconfirmed until it is published.

What is clear is that the venture targets large, heavily traded companies, where demand from international investors is strongest. Investors in Asia, Europe and elsewhere often want exposure to leading US stocks but face time-zone barriers, account opening hurdles and currency conversion costs. Around-the-clock trading settled in dollar stablecoins addresses all three.

The launch list will also test issuer attitudes. Companies that opt out signal discomfort with tokenised trading, while those that stay in lend credibility to the model.

For Southeast Asian investors in particular, the appeal is obvious. Investors in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines often access US stocks through local brokers with limited hours, foreign exchange spreads and minimum investment sizes. A tokenised share that trades in their daytime and settles in dollar stablecoins could lower all three barriers, subject to local rules on who may offer foreign securities to residents.

Why ICE and OKX are doing this

ICE invested in OKX in March at a valuation of about 25 billion dollars, and OKX has since added Circle, Ripple, Qube Research & Technologies and Standard Chartered's SC Ventures to that round, as we reported in our coverage of OKX's 25 billion dollar round. The tokenised stock venture is the most concrete product of that partnership so far.

For ICE, tokenisation is a hedge and an opportunity. If tokenised trading grows, owning a stake in a leading venue ensures the NYSE's parent participates rather than losing flow to crypto-native competitors. For OKX, the partnership brings regulatory credibility and access to listed equities in the United States that it could not offer on its own.

The venture is also reportedly co-chaired by former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and ICE executive Trabue Bland, according to one report. High-profile governance appointments are a signal that the partners intend to engage closely with regulators and policymakers.

The race to tokenised equities

OKX and ICE are not alone. Securitize has launched tokenised stocks on Solana, and Coinbase's Base network has added tokenised stocks for round-the-clock trading, according to industry roundups. Nasdaq has invested in Kraken's parent and in Amsterdam's One Trading, both of which are building always-on, tokenised market infrastructure, as covered in our report on Nasdaq and One Trading.

The competitive question is which model wins: tokenised shares that carry full shareholder rights on regulated venues, or synthetic exposure offered offshore. Regulators are pushing toward the former, and the involvement of established exchange operators suggests the industry expects regulated tokenised equities to become a significant market.

For traditional brokers, the trend is a challenge. If investors can buy tokenised US stocks around the clock with stablecoins, brokers that require bank funding and trade only during US hours may lose some international clients. Many will respond by offering tokenised products themselves or by partnering with venues.

Local regulation in investors' home countries is another layer. Even if the SEC allows the venue, regulators in Asia and Europe decide whether their residents can buy tokenised US securities and through which intermediaries. A product that is legal in the United States may still be restricted or unavailable in many of the markets where demand is strongest.

Risks and open questions

Liquidity is the first question. Around-the-clock trading only works if there are buyers and sellers at all hours, and permissioned pools must attract enough market makers to keep spreads tight. Prices overnight may diverge from where the stock opens on the NYSE.

Custody and legal structure are the second. Investors need confidence that each token is backed by a real share held by a regulated custodian, and that their rights are enforceable. The details of how OKXICE handles custody, corporate actions and investor protection will determine trust.

Regulatory approval is the third. Until the SEC's requirements are met and the opt-out period passes, the venue cannot open. Political shifts or enforcement priorities could also affect the timetable for tokenised securities more broadly.

The OKXICE filing marks a turning point in tokenised equities: an established exchange operator and a leading crypto venue proposing full-rights tokenised shares, trading around the clock and settling in stablecoins. Many hurdles remain, from regulatory approval to liquidity and custody. But if the venue launches, it could reshape how international investors access US stocks, and force traditional brokers to rethink both their trading hours and their settlement rails.