Walmart, Eli Lilly join pushback against OKX–ICE tokenized stock plans

tokenized stock plans — Walmart and Eli Lilly are among five new companies objecting to plans by OKX and ICE to tokenize their stocks, bringing the total number of objectors to 38.

The objections were filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against proposals from the Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) Bakkt platform and crypto exchange OKX. The filings argue the companies did not authorize the tokenization of their shares and express concerns over investor confusion and market fragmentation.

The pushback comes as a rival tokenized stock venue, Canton, prepares to launch under the SEC’s innovation exemption with an issuer-sponsored model, which requires company approval. The growing corporate resistance highlights a significant hurdle for crypto platforms seeking to offer tokenized versions of traditional equities.

The SEC has not yet approved the ICE and OKX proposals, which aim to list tokenized stocks for trading. The agency’s decision will be closely watched as a signal for the future of tokenized securities in regulated U.S. markets.