Mara ReyesBy October 2026, Microsoft and Alphabet had joined 14 other public companies objecting to OKXICE’s plan to trade blockchain-based versions of their shares. OKXICE is a venture of OKX and Intercontinental Exchange. Separately, the SEC had approved a Nasdaq rule change on March 20 for a tokenized-securities pilot settling through DTC; Kraken already offered EU customers more than 60 tokenized U.S. securities.
Key takeaways
- The SEC approved Nasdaq’s tokenized-securities rule change on March 20, 2026.
- By October 2026, 16 public companies had objected to OKXICE’s proposal.
- OKXICE’s application covered tokenized shares of 63 NYSE-listed companies.
- Kraken’s EU offering included more than 60 tokenized U.S. securities through Backed Finance’s xStocks.
- DTCC had tested distributed-ledger technology in the $2.6 trillion repo market with Digital Asset Holdings.
For a token to convey a share itself, issuers and intermediaries must agree which record controls custody, settlement and shareholder rights. A tradeable wrapper can reach buyers before those institutions agree.
Nasdaq put token settlement through the existing market
In 2015, Nasdaq tested blockchain technology in its Private Market, a venue for pre-IPO trading, and raised the possibility of extending it to public stocks. Later that year, Chain issued private-investor shares through Nasdaq Linq. The private market gave Nasdaq a place to test share records without first changing the operating rules of the public exchange.
Nasdaq’s public-market proposal took a different shape. Its September 2025 filing contemplated token-settled trades as early as the end of the third quarter of 2026; that timetable was a proposal, not evidence that those trades occurred. On March 20, 2026, the SEC approved a Nasdaq rule change allowing some securities to trade in tokenized form, with eligible participants settling through an upcoming pilot operated by the Depository Trust Company. Eleven years after its private-market test, Nasdaq had a regulated route through existing securities infrastructure, though the DTC pilot still had to demonstrate completed settlement.
Issuers decide which tokens carry shareholder rights
In January 2026, the SEC distinguished true tokenized ownership, which requires issuer approval, from retail stock tokens offering indirect or synthetic exposure. A product may track a share’s price without making its holder the owner of that share. Another may represent a claim through an intermediary. A buyer has to identify who owes the claim and what rights its contract conveys.
Figure’s proposed On-Chain Public Equity Network starts from the other end: it is designed to issue, trade and lend stocks natively on-chain rather than make replicas of existing shares. Figure would have to coordinate the original issuance and its attached rights with issuers.
The companies in the opening objected to OKXICE’s separate application to offer tokenized shares of 63 NYSE-listed companies. Their opposition puts issuer recognition in contention before the venture reaches the question of how a token holder would vote.
DTCC must reconcile the token with the custody record
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation had already tested distributed-ledger technology for the $2.6 trillion repo market with Digital Asset Holdings. After receiving an SEC No-Action Letter, DTCC selected Canton Network for tokenization work involving DTC-custodied U.S. Treasuries. Neither project specifies which network Nasdaq’s pilot will use.
For a depository, the test is operational. DTCC must identify permitted participants, reconcile custody positions with transfers and provide a way to correct errors. If a token transfer and the controlling custody record diverge, the depository and its participants need to resolve the mismatch before they can treat the transaction as settled.
Kraken’s trading hours bring voting into the design
Kraken’s EU offering shows what a distribution-first route can accomplish. Through Backed Finance’s xStocks, it opened access to more than 60 tokenized U.S. securities.
Exchange operators are proposing other routes. The NYSE and Securitize proposed a 24/7 digital trading system for tokenized stocks and ETFs. Nasdaq and Kraken’s planned framework for around-the-clock trading, targeted for 2027, explicitly includes proxy voting. For shares held through intermediaries, record-date holders must be identified and voting instructions carried through the custody chain. Longer trading hours make that handoff more pressing, including for tokens transferred outside conventional market hours.
Frequently asked questions
Have Nasdaq token-settled public-stock trades actually occurred?
The piece does not establish that they have. Nasdaq’s September 2025 filing contemplated trades as early as the end of the third quarter of 2026, but that was a proposed timetable; the DTC pilot still needed to demonstrate completed settlement.
Which blockchain network will Nasdaq’s DTC settlement pilot use?
It is not specified. DTCC selected Canton Network for work involving DTC-custodied U.S. Treasuries, but neither that project nor DTCC’s repo-market work identifies the network for Nasdaq’s pilot.
Do Kraken xStocks give an EU buyer direct shareholder rights in the underlying U.S. company?
The piece does not specify the rights attached to Kraken’s products. It says a buyer must examine who owes the claim and what the product contract conveys; price exposure or a claim through an intermediary is not necessarily direct share ownership.
Which companies besides Microsoft and Alphabet objected to OKXICE’s plan?
The piece identifies Microsoft and Alphabet and says 14 other public companies joined them, but it does not name the remaining objectors.
Tokenized-equity milestones
- 2015 — Nasdaq tested blockchain technology in its Private Market; Chain later issued private-investor shares through Nasdaq Linq.
- September 2025 — Nasdaq filed a proposal contemplating token-settled trades as early as the end of the third quarter of 2026.
- January 2026 — The SEC distinguished issuer-approved tokenized ownership from retail products offering indirect or synthetic stock exposure.
- March 20, 2026 — The SEC approved Nasdaq’s rule change for tokenized securities settling through an upcoming DTC pilot.
- October 2026 — Sixteen public companies had objected to OKXICE’s application covering tokenized shares of 63 NYSE-listed companies.
- 2027 — Nasdaq and Kraken’s planned around-the-clock trading framework was targeted for launch and explicitly included proxy voting.
At midnight, a wallet can show the token. At the record date, the issuer must know whose ballot to count.