24/7 Stocks: Wall Street Meets Crypto
A new joint venture between crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, is seeking to bring round-the-clock trading to US equities in tokenized form. On October 4, OKXICE LLC filed notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), detailing its plan to offer tokenized shares representing more than 60 major US-listed companies—including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Microsoft, and Coinbase. The platform aims to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using blockchain infrastructure rather than traditional market hours.
This approach stands in stark contrast to the five-day trading week that has defined Wall Street for decades, potentially enabling global investors to access US stocks at any time.
SEC Exemption Paves New Trading Path
The SEC’s “Innovation Exemption,” introduced on September 17, is central to this initiative. It allows qualifying venues like OKXICE to trade tokenized stocks without registering as traditional exchanges. The exemption is temporary and set for five years, capping the number of tradable symbols at 75 and limiting daily trading volume for Tier 1 stocks at 0.25% of their prior-month average. Additionally, companies must receive 30 days’ notice before their shares can be traded on such platforms.
The SEC's exemption, effective since September 17, restricts daily trading volume for Tier 1 stocks to just 0.25% of their prior-month average.
OKXICE’s October filing lists 63 stock tokens initially, including high-profile names such as Amazon, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Circle, Robinhood, and BitGo.
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo serves as co-chair of the venture and publicly announced the SEC filing—an unusual move that highlights the political attention around this project. While the SEC’s exemption opens new doors for digital asset venues, it also imposes strict compliance requirements that could limit rapid expansion.
Stablecoins Power Permissioned Stock Trades
Each tokenized share will be paired with one of three stablecoins: USDC (issued by Circle), USDG (Global Dollar), or Tether’s USDT. This structure enables users to buy or sell fractional equity tokens against digital dollars at any time. The platform will rely on permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools deployed on XLayer—a layer-2 blockchain built by OKX—using smart contracts to verify every transaction without relying on external price feeds or order books.
The use of automated market maker formulas means prices are set algorithmically based on supply and demand within each pool.
See Also
Who Can Trade: Soulbound Wallets Required
Access to trading will not be open to just anyone. Only wallets holding a non-transferable “soulbound token”—issued after identity verification, anti-money laundering checks, sanctions screening, and wallet approval by an OKX affiliate—can participate in trading or provide liquidity. This requirement introduces a significant compliance layer compared to most decentralized exchanges, where anyone with a wallet can typically trade freely.
According to unchainedcrypto.com, these soulbound tokens are designed specifically so they cannot be transferred between wallets or sold. This mechanism ensures that only pre-approved users can interact with the platform’s pools—a notable departure from standard DeFi protocols that prioritize permissionless access.
ICE and OKX Forge Unlikely Alliance
The joint venture between ICE and OKX was formalized in June as a 50/50 partnership focused on building infrastructure for tokenized financial products in the United States. ICE brings deep experience from running regulated markets like NYSE; OKX contributes blockchain technology expertise and its XLayer network. The collaboration highlights a rare convergence between established financial institutions and crypto-native firms—entities that have historically operated in separate spheres.
Yet even as traditional finance giants step into blockchain-based markets, regulatory uncertainty lingers: while the SEC’s five-year exemption provides a window for experimentation, its strict volume caps and symbol limits could slow mainstream adoption if demand surges quickly.
It remains unclear how quickly other major exchanges or brokerages might follow suit—or whether retail investors will embrace tokenized stocks once they become available around the clock.
The Big Picture
- •OKXICE, a 50-50 joint venture between OKX and ICE, filed with the SEC on October 4 to launch tokenized US stock trading.
- •The platform will offer 24/7 trading of 63 US-listed stocks, including Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Microsoft, paired with USDC, USDG, or USDT.
- •The SEC’s five-year innovation exemption (effective September 17) limits the venue to 75 symbols and 0.25% daily volume per Tier 1 stock.
Key signals ahead
If the SEC approves OKXICE LLC’s October 4 notice to launch a tokenized securities venue under the innovation exemption, trading of tokenized shares in up to 63 US-listed companies—including Apple, Nvidia, and Tesla—could begin operating 24/7, but the exact launch date remains unclear.
