Walmart, Eli Lilly Join 38 Companies Opposing OKX-ICE Tokenized Stocks

Walmart (NYSE: $WMT), Eli Lilly (NYSE: $LLY), Cigna Group (NYSE: $CI), Carnival (NYSE: $CCL) and Arcos Dorados (NYSE: $ARCO) have objected to plans to offer tokenized versions of their shares on a trading venue backed by crypto exchange OKX and Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: $ICE).

The five companies were added to OKXICE TSV’s list in a notice dated October 28, bringing the number of objecting companies to 38. The total has climbed from nine on October 15, as objections have spread across technology, finance, retail, health care and travel.

The latest additions include Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, and Arcos Dorados, the largest McDonald’s franchisee in Latin America. Both join companies that have already opposed the listings, including McDonald’s (NYSE: $MCD), Microsoft (NASDAQ: $MSFT), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: $JPM), Coca-Cola (NYSE: $KO) and Dell Technologies (NYSE: $DELL).

Eli Lilly and Cigna also add to the health care sector’s representation on the list, alongside UnitedHealth Group and Moderna.

The objections have consequences under an exemption introduced by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Under the agency’s September order, a venue seeking to offer tokenized shares issued by an unaffiliated third party must notify the company first.

If the company submits a written objection within 30 days, the venue cannot list that tokenized version of its stock under the exemption.

The rule applies to the specific trading venue, and the notices do not explain why the companies objected.

OKXICE TSV is a joint venture between ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and OKX’s US holding company. It plans to let approved users trade tokenized US stocks around the clock through permissioned Uniswap (CRYPTO: $UNI) v4 pools on OKX’s XLayer blockchain, using stablecoins such as USDC.

The list could grow further, as companies have 30 days after receiving notice to object. Major names including Nvidia (NASDAQ: $NVDA), Tesla (NASDAQ: $TSLA), Apple (NASDAQ: $AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: $AMZN) have not yet objected.