24/7 Stock Trading for Tokenized US Securities: OKX and NYSE Parent ICE Launch Crypto Exchange

OKXICE LLC, a joint venture equally owned by cryptocurrency exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 4, 2026, to launch a trading platform for tokenized US equities. The platform will make 63 corporate securities tradable around the clock, seven days a week.

Blockchain-based stocks from Nvidia to Coinbase

The initiative comprises 63 US-listed companies, including heavyweights such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Tesla and Coinbase, but also smaller names like USA Rare Earth and Applied Optoelectronics. Each tokenized share will be traded against the stablecoins USDC, USDG or USDT. A registered broker-dealer acts as the tokenizer and must maintain full 1:1 backing between underlying shares and issued tokens at all times. Token holders retain the same dividend and voting rights as conventional shareholders.

Automated Market Makers on OKX Layer 2

The technical architecture is based on a permissioned Automated Market Maker (AMM) system built on Uniswap v4 pools and operating on XLayer, OKX's Layer 2 network. Price discovery follows Uniswap's constant-product formula. The system dispenses with oracles or external price feeds within smart contracts. Only wallets holding a soulbound token from OKXICE can trade or provide liquidity—this token is issued following identity and sanctions checks.

OKXICE operates no order book, holds no customer funds and extends no credit. The platform is limited to the secondary market; primary offerings are excluded. Critical functions such as contract upgrades require multi-signature approval, while routine operations run via a separate administration key.

SEC Innovation Exemption Enables Five-Year Pilot Phase

The application leverages the Innovation Exemption introduced by the SEC in September 2026. This exemption permits qualified platforms to trade tokenized National Market System (NMS) stocks for five years without registering as a traditional exchange. The agency caps Tier-1 platforms at a maximum of 75 securities and 0.25 percent of the previous month's average daily trading volume. OKXICE must publish machine-readable transaction data within ten minutes of each trade.

Trading in a tokenized security will automatically halt whenever the underlying stock suspends trading on its primary exchange. Issuers have 30 days to object to tokenization of their shares. By the filing deadline, only chipmaker Cerebras Systems had filed an objection.

Cuomo as Co-Chair of Joint Venture

Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York State, serves as co-chair of the joint venture. OKX and ICE established the joint venture in June 2026 after ICE acquired a minority stake in the cryptocurrency exchange. Platform launch remains contingent on fulfilling additional regulatory requirements.

Second Tokenization Project with NYSE Involvement

OKXICE follows an earlier partnership between Blockchain.com and the NYSE in tokenized securities. The initiative joins a wave of efforts to migrate traditional securities to blockchain infrastructure. Tokenizing equities promises continuous trading hours and potentially lower settlement costs, but requires full regulatory endorsement.