Kraken, a leading crypto exchange with a long history of legal challenges over digital asset offerings in the United States, is taking a significant step into tokenized finance. The company has announced the upcoming launch of xStocks—a product designed to offer tokenized versions of U.S. equities and ETFs—exclusively to customers outside the United States. This initiative is being rolled out in partnership with Backed, a blockchain-based financial asset provider, and will feature more than 50 U.S.-listed securities, including shares of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia.
The tokenized assets will be made available on the Solana blockchain, enabling 24/7 trading of traditional financial instruments in a digital format. This structure mirrors the trading flexibility of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which are not bound by standard market hours. By using blockchain technology, Kraken aims to bridge the gap between traditional equity markets and the digital asset world, offering global investors a new layer of accessibility and liquidity.
These tokenized assets represent a significant departure from Kraken’s current U.S.-focused stock trading platform, which offers more than 11,000 stocks and ETFs through a conventional brokerage model. Unlike that platform, xStocks will operate outside U.S. jurisdiction and is not available to American users. This is an intentional move, considering the complex and often contentious regulatory environment in the U.S. surrounding crypto-based financial instruments.
The initiative arrives at a time when regulatory sentiment in the U.S. is undergoing a notable shift. Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission has eased its aggressive stance on the crypto sector, including rolling back various lawsuits, one of which had previously targeted Kraken. This regulatory thaw has opened the door for companies to revisit tokenization strategies that had been abandoned or stalled in previous years.
Kraken’s move is reminiscent of Binance’s attempt to tokenize equities in 2021, a venture that was ultimately discontinued after facing significant regulatory resistance. However, Kraken appears to be better positioned to navigate the current environment, especially with broader institutional interest now emerging around asset tokenization. Companies like Robinhood and BlackRock are exploring the space more openly, signaling that tokenized finance may be entering a new phase of mainstream acceptance.
Although Kraken remains a privately held company, it has consistently been a first mover in the cryptocurrency space, having launched before Coinbase and maintained a robust global footprint. By integrating tokenized stocks into its offerings, Kraken is doubling down on its commitment to innovation at the intersection of traditional finance and blockchain technology.
The xStocks initiative represents a meaningful evolution in how global users may engage with U.S. financial markets. Through round-the-clock, blockchain-enabled access to some of the world’s most valuable companies, Kraken is setting a new standard for crypto-financial integration while carefully sidestepping regulatory friction in the American market.
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