Fifty public companies have objected to having their shares tokenized on OKX-ICE, the joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, parent of the New York Stock Exchange. The first 30-day notice window closes Tuesday.

A notice dated Oct. 30 added 12 companies to the list, including Nvidia, Costco, Nike, Micron and Reddit. They joined previously identified objectors such as Microsoft, Alphabet, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, Broadcom, Verizon and Intel.

OKX-ICE initially proposed tokenizing shares from 62 companies. According to a CoinDesk tally cited in the report, 43 of those companies—about 69%—have now objected. The number of objectors increased from nine on Oct. 15 to 16 on Oct. 19, 38 on Oct. 28 and 50 two days later.

The objections are made possible by the SEC’s five-year Innovation Exemption, issued Sept. 17. The measure allows tokenized securities venues to trade blockchain-based versions of U.S. stocks through automated market makers without registering as exchanges. When a third party tokenizes a company’s stock, the issuer receives notice and has 30 days to object in writing. If it does not respond, the proposal is considered approved, and the order does not provide a way to object after the window closes.

OKX-ICE plans to offer round-the-clock trading for tokens backed one-for-one by shares. The tokens would trade against stablecoins such as USDC in permissioned pools on OKX’s X Layer blockchain.

The companies that objected have not publicly explained their decisions. JPMorgan said it remains encouraged by tokenization but wants to take a careful approach to how its shares are represented and traded. Olivia Vande Woude, Ava Labs’ head of tokenization, said the list could continue growing because the opt-out process is straightforward.

The dispute also involves competition between trading venues. An executive at a Nasdaq-listed company told Crypto in America that a Nasdaq representative encouraged the company to object and offered to explain the exchange’s position. Nasdaq declined to comment on that account but maintained that tokenized securities venues are not the best route to tokenization.

Nasdaq has argued that platforms outside the National Market System could fragment liquidity and lack real-time best-price displays and consolidated-tape reporting. The exchange is developing its own issuer-centric Nasdaq Equity Token with Kraken, with a target launch in the second quarter of 2027.

A full-page Wall Street Journal advertisement urged chief executives to opt out under the headline “YOUR STOCK. THEIR TOKENS. YOUR PROBLEM.” The advertisement linked to Nasdaq’s FAQ through a QR code and was paid for by the conservative-leaning nonprofit Common Sense Leadership Fund. Nasdaq said it was not connected to the advertisement and had never funded the group.

OKX-ICE co-chair and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo described the objections as a natural response to a new market structure. Under the proposed system, a tokenized stock would be a blockchain token backed by a real share held by a third party, allowing it to trade around the clock against stablecoins such as USDC. Issuers can prevent the listing only by objecting within the 30-day period.

Sources: Bitcoin Magazine.