Why McDonalds, Microsoft and Google saying no to tokenized stocks isn't a dealbreaker

That gives public companies a say in whether unaffiliated third parties tokenize and trade their shares, but it also tilts the decision toward caution.

Global law firm Latham & Watkins has warned issuers that silence effectively becomes an irrevocable decision: the SEC order provides no mechanism to object after the 30-day window or withdraw a prior non-objection once trading begins.

So when a legal or investor-relations team receives notice about a new market structure it may know little about, saying no while it figures things out can be the rational choice.

“Most of these companies had no idea a third party had tokenized their stock until the OKXICE notice went up,” Dave Hendricks, CEO and founder of tokenization firm Vertalo, told CoinDesk.

“Once they do, the questions come fast: who holds the shares behind the token, how do dividends and votes reach those holders, what does the transfer agent see?” he added.

If those questions can't be answered within 30 days, he said, objecting makes sense.

Olivia Vande Woude, head of tokenization at Ava Labs, also cautioned against reading the growing list as a verdict on OKXICE.

“It's the first venue to send notices under the SEC's Innovation Exemption, so it's the first to get the answers,” she said.