OKXICE, a 50-50 joint venture between OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), notified the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Oct. 4 of its intent to launch a 24/7 tokenized U.S. stock trading venue under the agency's Innovation Exemption. The platform aims to introduce continuous, round-the-clock trading for major equities by building on decentralized finance infrastructure.
Tokenized Stock Market Structure and 24/7 Liquidity
The proposed platform will initially support 63 U.S. securities, including Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Coinbase, and Circle. By enabling continuous market activity, tokenized shares can absorb news and reprice during nights and weekends when traditional equity exchanges are closed. The initiative builds on regulatory steps detailed when OKX files with SEC to launch tokenized US stock trading venue OKXICE.
Instead of conventional order books, prices on OKXICE will be driven by automated market maker (AMM) liquidity pools using Uniswap v4 smart contracts deployed on X Layer, OKX's network. Tokenized stocks will trade against stablecoins, specifically USDC, USDT, or USDG. Third-party tokenizers must maintain one underlying share for every token issued, ensuring investors preserve full voting, dividend, and economic rights. Access requires identity, anti-money-laundering (AML), and sanctions verification to receive a non-transferable credential for self-custodial wallets.
Key details of the planned venue include:
- 63 initial U.S. securities will be supported, each fully backed 1:1 by underlying cash shares.
- Uniswap v4 liquidity pools on X Layer will handle execution against USDC, USDT, or USDG.
- SEC Tier 1 rules limit trading volume for any single stock to 0.25% of its prior month's average daily volume.
SEC Limits and Regulatory Exemption Scope
The temporary SEC exemption is set to run through Sept. 17, 2031. To prevent market disruption, the regulator established strict caps: Tier 1 securities are limited to 75 symbols per venue with a volume ceiling of 0.25% of the prior month's average daily volume (ADV). Tier 2 securities carry a 250-symbol limit and a 2.5% ADV volume cap. Breaching these thresholds mandates an automatic three-month trading halt for that tokenized share.
Commenting on the structure, OKXICE co-chair and former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stated, "This is a landmark step toward a truly global, 24/7 Wall Street." OKX founder and CEO Star Xu noted that "Wall Street is moving onchain."
Why It Matters
Bringing continuous U.S. equity trading onto public blockchain infrastructure represents a major step toward merging traditional asset markets with decentralized liquidity. Off-hours price discovery will provide valuable continuous pricing signals during weekend global events, though thin overnight liquidity could lead to temporary price dislocations against underlying shares. If successful, the pilot could demonstrate that permissioned automated market makers can operate effectively alongside conventional national market system exchanges.
