ICE, the parent company of the New York Stock Exchange, and crypto exchange OKX have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch a blockchain-based platform for tokenized U.S. stock trading, according to the companies.
The proposed venture, called OKXICE, would offer trading in more than 60 tokenized U.S. stocks if approved. Users would be able to buy and sell the tokens with stablecoins, which are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a fixed value against the U.S. dollar. Each token would be backed by an underlying share to represent ownership of a real stock rather than simply tracking its price, the company said.
Trading would run on X Layer, a blockchain linked to OKX. The platform would operate under a new SEC exemption that allows certain regulated on-chain stock trading venues. In mid-September, the regulator unveiled a five-year program that lets companies offer trading in blockchain-based versions of stocks under a temporary exemption from some rules that govern traditional exchanges such as Nasdaq and the NYSE.
The filing comes roughly three months after Fortune reported that Andrew Cuomo, the former New York governor, would become OKXICE’s cochair. In March, ICE announced an investment in OKX at a $25 billion valuation and put roughly $200 million into the crypto exchange, according to Bloomberg.
Cuomo said in a written statement that 'the market never sleeps, so why should trading?' He added that 'ownership shouldn't have office hours' and said tokenized securities are 'part of what comes next.'
Tokenized assets have become one of crypto’s biggest draws for traditional finance. A recent report from data analytics platform Dune said the value of tokenized assets topped $35 billion so far this year, while tokenized stocks climbed 2,000% as the number of active holders surpassed 1 million.
The filing also lands after the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, a bill that would have created a national market structure framework for the crypto industry.
Power leaves a paper trail. The numbers come first, and the numbers here point to a market pushing around the gatekeepers. The SEC has opened a temporary lane for on-chain stock trading while lawmakers failed to deliver a broader crypto framework. Capital rewards clear rules, and when rules move, capital moves with them.
There is also a harder edge to the story. OKX pleaded guilty in February 2025 and agreed to pay roughly $500 million to resolve a Justice Department case tied to potential anti-money-laundering violations. Yet the exchange relaunched in the U.S. two months later. For investors, that is a reminder that market access is not the same thing as a clean regulatory record. For Washington, it is another example of how regulation shapes, and sometimes distorts, where innovation and leverage decide to go next.
