OKX and ICE Create 24/7 Tokenized Stock Market

Cryptocurrency exchange OKX and New York Stock Exchange owner Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) are preparing to launch a 24/7 tokenized stock market in the US, offering more than 60 stocks from companies like Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple. Trades will be conducted against stablecoins through liquidity pools on the blockchain, rather than using a traditional order book. According to regulatory documents, the list of tokenized stocks includes Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet, as well as cryptocurrency-related companies like Coinbase and Robinhood. However, inclusion in the list does not guarantee trading on the platform, as companies can object to their stocks being included within 30 days. For instance, Cerebras has already objected to its stock being listed.

Investments will be easy to understand. Essentially, when purchasing Nvidia stocks through OKXICE, a client will acquire a digital token representing ownership of one Nvidia share. Each token will be backed by the corresponding stock, meaning one Nvidia token will be backed by one share. On the new market, investors will work with stablecoins like USDC and USDT, without using dollars. The traditional system of matching buys and sells will not be applied. Instead, stock tokens and stablecoins will reside in blockchain pools, with which investors can trade, creating a new pricing mechanism. Tokens will be withdrawn from the pool upon purchase, leading to price increases.

This new stock trading model is planned to operate 24/7, including weekends, allowing investors to buy stock tokens when traditional exchanges are closed. However, TD Securities notes that there is "limited relevance" for institutional investors in the short term, as they already have convenient access to stocks. This may also deter companies from participating in the tokenization of their stocks due to regulatory uncertainty and low interest in this form of trading. Thus, the new OKXICE platform will become the first real test of the tokenized stock market in the US and a check on how quickly its model can be scaled. "The most important thing– is not that OKXICE is launching another tokenized stock market," – said Harvey Lee, founder of Tokenization Insight. "It's that OKXICE could become one of the first real tests showing which tokenization model can scale faster in the stock market."