OKXICE filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a venue for round-the-clock trading in tokenised US stocks. The 50-50 venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange proposed an initial list of 63 companies. Its public notice did not specify a launch date.
The filing followed the SEC’s 17 September grant of five-year, conditional relief for tokenised-securities venues and certain liquidity providers. The exemption permits qualifying venues to operate without registering as national securities exchanges, subject to investor-protection and market-integrity conditions. Reuters and The Wall Street Journal separately reported the OKXICE submission.
A PERMISSIONED ONCHAIN MARKET
OKXICE said the proposed venue would run on X Layer, a blockchain developed by OKX. Access would be permissioned rather than open to anonymous participants. The planned market would extend stock trading beyond the conventional US exchange session while operating within the SEC’s temporary framework.
The SEC requires tokenised shares admitted under the exemption to carry the same rights and privileges as the underlying securities, including dividends and voting rights. Synthetic products that merely track a share price are outside the relief. Issuers must also receive advance notice and may object to their shares being offered on a venue.
LAUNCH CONDITIONS REMAIN
The proposal places a crypto operator and the owner of the New York Stock Exchange in a joint test of blockchain-based equity market infrastructure. The venue would compete with other platforms seeking to use the exemption for tokenised securities. Its round-the-clock model may also test how prices, liquidity and corporate actions are handled when primary exchanges are closed.
The next milestones are a required independent security audit before operations, the expiry of applicable issuer-notice periods and publication of a firm launch timetable. The SEC has not passed on the merits or accuracy of OKXICE’s notice, and the venture must continue meeting the exemption’s access, sanctions, anti-fraud and market-integrity conditions. Any issuer objections or changes to the temporary SEC framework could alter the initial list before trading begins.