Walmart, Eli Lilly, and three other companies have joined a growing list of businesses objecting to proposed tokenized stock trading plans from crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange. The latest additions bring the number of disclosed objections to 38 out of 62 companies on the original list.
Carnival, Arcos Dorados, and Cigna also appeared in an updated public notice dated October 28. The rising opposition highlights corporate concerns over a developing market structure that could allow blockchain-based trading of US stocks around the clock.
In this story
3 assets
The proposed framework operates under a five-year SEC innovation exemption, allowing qualifying venues to test tokenized stock trading through automated market makers. When an independent third party tokenizes a company’s shares, the issuer must be notified and given 30 days to object.
For companies, declining participation is a straightforward way to avoid having their shares traded through a structure they have not approved. The rules also mean that remaining silent can allow trading to proceed without a later mechanism to withdraw that consent.
JPMorgan Chase has also objected, while indicating that it remains open to exploring tokenization as the market develops. Its position reflects a broader industry approach: recognizing blockchain’s potential while remaining cautious about how shares are represented and traded.
Meanwhile, Canton Strategic Holdings is pursuing a different model, with plans for its shares to trade on a Canton-based marketplace as early as Monday. Its issuer-sponsored tokenization arrangement avoids the objection process required for unaffiliated third-party tokenization.
