OKX and NYSE owner ICE plan 24/7 tokenized stock trading for stablecoins: what it means for USDT and USDC holders
On October 5 it emerged that OKXICE, a joint venture of OKX and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange, has notified the SEC of a tokenized stock venue. Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, SpaceX and dozens of other companies will trade around the clock, each stock paired with a stablecoin: USDC, USDG or USDT. Here is how the venue works, who will be able to trade on it, and what it changes for people who keep dollars in stablecoins.
What was filed with the SEC
On October 4, 2026, OKXICE LLC sent the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) a notice about a new venue, and on October 5 Bloomberg, Decrypt and other outlets reported it. OKXICE is owned 50/50 by the OKX crypto exchange and Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange. The partners already have history: in March 2026 ICE invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation and took a board seat.
The venue is called the Tokenized Securities Venue, or TSV. OKXICE co-chair and former New York governor Andrew Cuomo called the filing a landmark step toward a truly global Wall Street that runs 24/7.
The notice gives no launch date. Before it can start, the venue has to meet the SEC's conditions.
The SEC exemption: stocks without exchange registration
A notice instead of a license application is possible thanks to the Innovation Exemption, a special SEC exemption in effect since September 17, 2026. Under it, venues can trade tokenized shares of US companies without registering as an exchange. The SEC does not approve each venue individually: a firm that meets the conditions notifies the regulator and operates under them.
A company's shares can be tokenized without its involvement. But the venue must notify the issuer and give it 30 days to object. If the issuer objects, its tokens won't trade on the venue. The first such case is already here: Cerebras Systems objected and is not on the OKXICE list.
The key condition of the exemption: the token must keep the rights of a real shareholder. That sets the new venue apart from the product OKX has sold outside the US since July 2026. Those tokens give price exposure only, with no dividends or voting, and are not available to US and EU residents.
Which stocks, for which stablecoins
According to Bloomberg, 63 NYSE-listed companies are on the launch list. The notice names Nvidia, Tesla, Apple, Microsoft and SpaceX, plus crypto-linked companies Coinbase, Circle, Strategy, Robinhood, BitGo and Securitize.
Each tokenized stock will trade in a pair with one of three stablecoins: USDC, USDG or USDT. There is no ordinary dollar in this setup at all. The stablecoin plays its role: you buy a stock with it and sell the stock back into it.
| Stablecoin | Issuer | Known for |
|---|---|---|
| USDT | Tether | the largest stablecoin, circulates mostly on TRON and Ethereum |
| USDC | Circle | a US company's stablecoin, and Circle itself is on the venue's stock list |
| USDG | Paxos | Global Dollar, the coin of the Global Dollar Network |
For a holder, all three coins are pegged one to one to the dollar; the difference lies in the issuer and the networks the coin runs on. You can swap one stablecoin for another, or move it to a different network, at a crypto exchange without opening a trading account. We looked at how corporate dollars on the blockchain work in our piece on how the OUSD stablecoin from Visa and Stripe differs from USDT.
How trading will work
Trades will run around the clock, weekends included, in permissioned Uniswap v4 liquidity pools. The pools live on XLayer, OKX's layer 2 network. A custom smart contract checks every transaction.
The stock tokens in a buyer's wallet are backed by real shares. A third-party tokenizer holds them one to one through a registered broker-dealer. The token holder receives dividends and voting rights.
Round-the-clock trading has a downside, and the notice itself warns about it. Only the pools set the token price, so it can diverge from the stock price on the exchange, especially when the exchange is closed. At night or on a Sunday, an Apple token may not be worth what an Apple share was in the last hour of trading.
KYC is the way in
This trading won't be anonymous. Only wallets holding a soulbound token, a non-transferable access pass, will be able to trade in the pools or supply liquidity to them. OKX's US entity issues it after identity, AML and sanctions checks.
Technically, trades run on chain through Uniswap. But every wallet in a pool is tied to a person OKX knows, and the pass can't be moved to another address. In effect it is a brokerage account where settlement happens in stablecoins on XLayer. And the venue is built for US residents, unlike OKX's offshore product.
What it changes for USDT and USDC holders
The venue isn't live yet, and we neither recommend nor discourage buying stocks through it: that is up to each person and their tax residency. The trend matters more. After payments, stablecoins are entering the stock market, and USDT and USDC are becoming the money stocks trade for at any hour.
For a stablecoin holder this leads to three practical takeaways:
- the network matters: OKXICE settles on XLayer, while your own USDT or USDC sits on TRON, Ethereum or another network, so it pays to understand transfers between networks in advance;
- the issuer matters: USDT, USDC and USDG have different companies behind them, and each can freeze an address;
- access matters: a stablecoin in your own wallet stays yours, but entry to regulated venues like OKXICE goes through identity checks.
If you don't hold stablecoins yet but have bitcoin, you can exchange BTC to USDC on Ethereum and keep dollars at your own address.
Getting USDC or USDT on the right network
Tokenized stock venues and bank platforms require a specific stablecoin on a specific network. If you hold the wrong coin or it sits on the wrong network, you can swap it with no registration.
VertEXchange needs no account, email or phone number. You enter your wallet address, send the coins and receive the exchanged ones straight to that address. You can pick a floating or a fixed rate; the fixed rate holds for about 15 minutes.
The most common stablecoin cases look like this. If your USDT is on TRON and you need USDC, you can swap USDT TRC20 to USDC ERC20. If your USDT is already on Ethereum, it's easier to convert USDT ERC20 to USDC on the same network.
FAQ
What is OKXICE?
A joint venture of the OKX crypto exchange and Intercontinental Exchange, the owner of the New York Stock Exchange. The two companies own it 50/50. On October 4, 2026, OKXICE notified the SEC that it plans to launch the Tokenized Securities Venue for tokenized stocks.
When will tokenized stock trading start on OKXICE?
No date has been given. The venue first has to meet the conditions of the SEC exemption and only then can it begin operating.
Can you trade on OKXICE anonymously?
No. Only wallets holding a non-transferable soulbound token can trade. OKX's US entity issues it after identity, AML and sanctions checks, and a smart contract checks every trade.
Which stablecoins will the stocks trade for?
USDC, USDG and USDT. Each tokenized stock trades in a pair with one of these three stablecoins.
Do token holders get dividends?
Yes. A tokenizer holds the shares one to one through a broker-dealer, and the token holder receives dividends and voting rights. Outside exchange hours, the token price may differ from the stock price.
Swap USDT on TRON for USDC on Ethereum: the coins go straight to your address, no registration needed.
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