Andrew Cuomo says a Wall Street Journal ad opposing tokenized stocks signals a contest over platforms, as 38 companies opt out of OKX-ICE’s proposal.

Cuomo Sees Tokenized Stock Ad as Sign of a Fight for Market Share

A Wall Street Journal ad warning companies about tokenized shares has turned a debate over risks into a visible contest over who will run the market, Andrew Cuomo said. The former New York governor, who joined OKX’s board in July and co-chairs its joint venture with Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), called the ad a sign that “it means game on.”

Speaking on a virtual press call Thursday, Oct. 29, Cuomo argued that traditional finance firms wouldn’t be entering the tokenization market without major players believing it could shape the future of securities trading. His read: the argument is no longer about whether tokenization will happen, but whose platform will attract the business.

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An ad with a Nasdaq destination

The full-page ad appeared on page B5 of the Journal’s Oct. 24-25 weekend edition and circulated on X the following day. Its headline—“YOUR STOCK. THEIR TOKENS. YOUR PROBLEM.”—urged public companies to use an SEC opt-out right within 30 days, warning that otherwise tokens representing their shares could trade on “unregulated venues.”

The ad’s paid-for line named the Common Sense Leadership Fund, which CoinDesk reported is a 501(c)(4) group based in Arlington, Virginia. Cuomo questioned why a political organization was involved when no legislation on tokenized stocks was advancing. He also pointed to the ad’s QR code, which led to a Nasdaq FAQ.

Nasdaq is developing its own tokenization models. “My tokenization platform is better than your tokenization platform,” Cuomo said, describing the ad’s apparent subtext. The FAQ says Nasdaq intends to opt its shares out of tokenized securities venues. Nasdaq told CoinDesk it had no connection to the ad.

Competing arguments over risk

Securitize CEO Carlos Domingo criticized the ad on X on Oct. 26, calling it misleading. He argued that its concerns don’t apply to tokenization conducted in the U.S. under SEC rules, and attributed the backlash to “offshore synthetics.”

Securitize then placed its own full-page Journal ad defending regulated tokenization. Frank Chaparro highlighted it on X on Oct. 28. The company posted that day that “everyone has an opinion on tokenized stocks this week.”

Rebecca Rettig of Jito Labs responded on Oct. 29, saying the ad’s warnings overlook the form of tokenized stock allowed under the SEC exemption. She argued that the risks described “could or would” not arise under that model.

Opt-outs keep accumulating

An Oct. 28 OKXICE notice listed 38 companies that had objected to having their shares tokenized, up from 33 the day before. Thirty-three were among the 62 companies initially proposed.

Cuomo said the objections were predictable: some companies don’t want to be “the first one in the pool.” He traced the list-first process to the SEC’s innovation exemption, issued Sept. 17. Under it, each named company has 30 days to object.

“The start period has passed. There’s no end period,” Cuomo said. Each new company notice starts its own 30-day window, so the opt-out process continues on a rolling basis. He added that companies had contacted OKXICE to say, “we are interested in opting in,” but gave no names, count or launch date. The next signal to watch is whether those inquiries translate into participation as the competing platforms and arguments take shape.