Crypto exchange Kraken plans to offer tokenized versions of popular U. S. equities through a new product called xStocks, launched in partnership with Backed Finance. These tokenized equities, live on the Solana blockchain as SPL tokens, represent actual shares held 1:1 by Backed in custody. This initiative allows clients in select non-U. S. jurisdictions to trade over 50 U. S. stocks and ETFs—including Tesla, Nvidia, Apple, and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF—beyond traditional market hours, providing 24/7 access. Kraken’s approach marks one of the first successful listings of tokenized U. S. equities since Binance’s earlier efforts in 2021.

Unlike prior models, Kraken uses real securities held securely and tokenized on a fast, low-cost blockchain, enabling instant, borderless, and accessible exposure to major American companies. Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s Global Head of Consumer, highlighted that xStocks aims to overcome the slow, costly, and restricted nature of traditional equities access by leveraging blockchain technology. These Solana-based SPL tokens are compatible with wallets and network protocols, enabling users to utilize their tokenized stocks within decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, including using them as collateral for other activities. Kraken’s tokenized equities initiative extends its broader traditional finance expansion; earlier in 2025, Kraken launched regular equities trading for U. S. clients offering over 11, 000 stocks and ETFs via its app. Tokenization is becoming a practical means to improve market access and liquidity—defined as the ease and speed with which assets convert to cash without significant price impact. Kraken plans to expand xStocks availability to the U. K. , Europe, and Australia soon. Complementing this, Kraken recently introduced crypto derivatives products for European users under a Cyprus license, leveraging the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) framework to offer these products across the European Economic Area. In summary, Kraken’s xStocks initiative uses blockchain technology to provide global, round-the-clock trading of tokenized U. S. equities backed by actual shares, offering a novel, liquid, and borderless investment experience beyond traditional financial markets. — Jared Kirui, Financial Journalist