Is Nasdaq's Partnership with Kraken a Game-Changer for Tokenized Stocks - Kavout
Nasdaq, Inc. has announced a strategic partnership with Kraken to develop and distribute tokenized equities, with a planned launch in the first half of 2027. This initiative leverages Kraken’s xStocks framework to provide international investors with one-to-one tokenized versions of public company shares, ensuring full legal and regulatory equivalence to traditional holdings. The collaboration aims to modernize financial processes such as proxy voting and shareholder engagement by embedding programmable features directly into the assets. By utilizing Kraken’s existing infrastructure, which has already processed over $20 billion in cumulative trading volume since June 2025, the partnership seeks to bridge the gap between traditional capital markets and decentralized finance. This move builds upon Nasdaq’s previous SEC proposals to integrate tokenized assets with Depository Trust infrastructure. The project is designed to operate within regulated frameworks, utilizing Alpaca for brokerage and custody services while maintaining strict KYC and AML compliance. This institutional endorsement is significant as the global RWA market is projected to reach $9.43 trillion by 2030, driven by increased demand for fractional ownership and enhanced market efficiency.
- Nasdaq and Kraken plan to launch tokenized equities for international markets in early 2027.
- Kraken's xStocks framework has processed over $20 billion in trading volume since June 2025.
- The partnership targets 72.8% CAGR growth in the RWA market, projected to hit $9.43 trillion by 2030.
- xStocks currently powers 7 of the top 10 tokenized stocks by 24-hour trading volume.
Tokenized equities are digital representations of traditional shares recorded on a blockchain, designed to offer the same legal rights as conventional stocks, such as dividends and voting. The xStocks framework, acquired by Kraken via Backed Finance, acts as a permissionless infrastructure layer that allows these assets to trade across both centralized and decentralized venues while maintaining regulatory compliance.