Kraken
kraken.com →40 stories in our coverage
Exchange and custodian; issuer of tokenized equities (xStocks).
Kraken in the news
Bitcoin Price Rebounds From Oil-Fueled Retreat, Nasdaq To Launch Tokenized Stocks
Nasdaq has announced a strategic partnership with Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, to facilitate the trading of tokenized stocks. This initiative marks a significant intersection between traditional equity markets and blockchain-based digital asset infrastructure. By integrating tokenization, Nasdaq aims to modernize the settlement and accessibility of equity products for a broader range of investors. The announcement coincides with broader market movements in the cryptocurrency sector, which saw a rebound in bitcoin prices following recent volatility. While the specific technical implementation details remain limited, the collaboration signals a growing institutional appetite for bridging legacy financial systems with distributed ledger technology. This move is part of a wider trend where major financial exchanges explore tokenization to enhance market efficiency and liquidity. The development underscores the increasing legitimacy of digital assets within the framework of established global financial institutions.
Tokenized Stock Holders Double to 1.31M as Monthly Volume Jumps 179%
The tokenized stock market is currently dominated by three major platforms, with Ondo leading at $872 million in distributed value, followed by Kraken's xStocks at $557.8 million and Binance's bStocks at $521.8 million. Binance's bStocks, launched in June 2026, has rapidly gained traction, narrowing the gap with Kraken to approximately $36 million. A significant surge in demand for pre-IPO exposure, particularly regarding SpaceX's June 12 public debut, drove widespread product launches across major exchanges including Coinbase, Bybit, and Bitget. While these platforms successfully attracted substantial capital, including a $557 million subscription campaign by Binance, the sector faced operational hurdles when xStocks failed to secure sufficient underlying shares. This shortfall forced Binance, Bybit, and Bitget Wallet to cancel their pre-IPO campaigns and issue customer refunds. Despite these setbacks, interest in SpaceX-linked products remains evident, with bStocks maintaining a distributed value of $67.9 million post-listing. This trend highlights both the high retail appetite for private-market assets and the logistical complexities inherent in scaling tokenized equity offerings.
Kraken Brings 7,000+ U.S. Stocks to Europe, Becomes First Crypto Platform Offering Traditional Shares and Tokenized Equities in One Account
Kraken has launched commission-free trading for over 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks and 700 tokenized xStocks for customers across the European Economic Area. This integration allows users to manage traditional equities and tokenized assets within a single regulated account under the MiFID II framework. By offering both traditional shares and 1:1 collateralized xStocks, Kraken aims to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto-native infrastructure. The platform, operated by Payward Europe Digital Solutions, distinguishes itself from competitors like Crypto.com and Bitpanda by providing a unified interface for both asset types. Tokenized equities currently represent 15% of the RWA market, with a total market capitalization of approximately $2.8 billion. Kraken, alongside Ondo Finance and Binance, controls 77% of this specific sector. This expansion signifies a major shift toward institutional-grade convergence, as trading activity on the platform increasingly pivots toward equity-based products despite a 13% year-over-year decline in total transaction volume.
24-Hour Trading on US Exchanges: What the SEC Roundtable Means for Tokenized Stocks
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has scheduled a roundtable for September 17, 2026, to discuss the operational and resilience requirements for implementing 24-hour trading across American equity markets. This initiative directly challenges the primary value proposition of tokenized stocks on platforms like Kraken and Binance, which currently offer continuous trading that traditional exchanges lack. While the SEC roundtable is not a formal vote, it signifies a major shift as traditional venues like Nasdaq and NYSE Arca have already received approval to extend their trading hours into night sessions. As traditional exchanges move toward near-continuous operation, the competitive edge of tokenized assets—specifically their ability to trade outside standard market hours—is being significantly compressed. Tokenized stocks, such as xStocks and bStocks, provide fractional ownership and on-chain settlement, but they rely on the issuer holding the underlying equity, meaning investors face issuer risk rather than direct shareholder rights. The speed at which traditional exchanges successfully implement these extended hours will determine how much of the 'time advantage' remains for crypto-native tokenized stock products. Ultimately, this transition forces investors to weigh the remaining benefits of tokenization, such as weekend access, against the inherent risks of holding derivative claims rather than direct equity.
XStocks leads tokenized stock issuers with $17M market cap growth in a single week
The tokenized equities sector has reached a total market capitalization of approximately $2.8 billion, with the Solana-based platform xStocks emerging as the fastest-growing issuer. Backed by Kraken’s parent company, Payward, xStocks added $17.3 million in market cap over a single week, significantly outpacing competitors like Ondo Finance and Superstate. Originally launched in June 2025, the platform has expanded its catalog to over 700 assets and reports $35 billion in cumulative transaction volume. The platform utilizes a 1:1 backing model where tokens are supported by actual shares held in regulated custody. By excluding US persons, xStocks navigates regulatory complexities while providing global investors with 24/7 access to US equity markets. The combined market share of top issuers, including xStocks, Ondo, and Binance’s bStocks, now accounts for roughly 77% of the total tokenized equities market. While this growth is notable, the sector remains a small fraction of the $50 trillion traditional US stock market, highlighting significant room for future expansion. This trend underscores the increasing institutional interest in bridging traditional brokerage compliance with the efficiency of blockchain rails.
Tokenized equities grow to $9B
Tokenized equity markets have experienced rapid expansion, with total volume surging from $1 billion in January to $9 billion by July. This growth is largely driven by investor demand for after-hours trading, which currently accounts for 55% of Jupiter’s total tokenized equity volume. The sector saw a 207% quarter-over-quarter increase in trading volume, signaling that on-chain platforms are becoming a viable alternative to traditional exchanges. This shift in market behavior is influencing legacy infrastructure, as evidenced by Nasdaq’s proposal to implement 23-hour trading sessions starting December 6th. Major platforms like Kraken are expanding access by offering over 700 tokenized equities to European Economic Area customers, further bridging the gap between traditional and digital assets. While Robinhood continues to offer stock tokens globally, the exclusion of U.S. customers has sparked debate regarding American competitiveness in financial innovation. Ultimately, the rise of tokenized equities demonstrates a clear market preference for continuous, globalized access to U.S. stocks that traditional market hours currently fail to provide.
Kraken launches US
Kraken has expanded its European Economic Area (EEA) service offering by enabling eligible customers to trade over 7,000 conventional US-listed stocks directly through its Kraken Pro platform and mobile app. This integration allows users to manage traditional equities alongside more than 600 crypto assets and over 700 xStocks, which are tokenized representations of publicly listed equities. Operating under its Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) authorization, Kraken’s Cyprus-based entity, Payward Europe Digital Solutions, facilitates these commission-free trades. Since the launch of xStocks in 2025, the product has achieved over $38 billion in total transaction volume, signaling significant user demand for hybrid trading environments. Currently, xStocks holds approximately $609 million in market capitalization, positioning it as the second-largest tokenized stock issuer globally behind Ondo Finance. This development marks a strategic convergence of traditional finance and blockchain-based assets, providing a unified interface for diverse investment classes. By bridging the gap between conventional shares and tokenized versions, Kraken is positioning itself as a primary venue for institutional and retail investors seeking integrated asset management.
Kraken Partners With Nasdaq To Build Tokenized Equity Gateway
Kraken parent company Payward has entered a strategic partnership with Nasdaq to develop an equities transformation gateway designed to bridge regulated tokenized equity markets with permissionless blockchain networks. This infrastructure will leverage Kraken’s xStocks product, which has already facilitated over $25 billion in total transaction volume and currently supports more than 85,000 unique holders. The gateway aims to enable the movement of tokenized equities between permissioned environments and open on-chain ecosystems, with a planned launch in the first half of 2027. By utilizing xStocks as the underlying infrastructure, the initiative seeks to address the current fragmentation of liquidity by allowing equities to function as interoperable collateral across various trading and lending platforms. Payward will manage essential KYC and AML compliance while serving as the primary settlement layer for Nasdaq’s issuer-sponsored equity token design. This development represents a significant shift in market structure, moving away from siloed brokerage systems toward a unified margin framework. Ultimately, the project aims to enhance capital efficiency by enabling tokenized shares to be used natively within spot, derivatives, and financing markets.
4 Best Tokenized Stock Platforms for Global Users in 2026: Fees, Availability, and Trading Features
Tokenized stocks allow investors to gain exposure to publicly traded equities and ETFs through blockchain platforms without traditional brokerage accounts. Bitget and Kraken have emerged as leading platforms in this space, offering products like Bitget's rTokens and Kraken's xStocks that track the economic performance of US-listed assets. These tokens are typically backed 1:1 by underlying securities held in custody, providing a bridge between traditional finance and crypto ecosystems. Bitget, utilizing the Reality Protocol, offers over 500 tokenized assets with 24/7 trading capabilities, while Kraken allows for fractional ownership and on-chain withdrawals. Despite these benefits, these tokens do not grant users direct shareholder rights, such as voting, and carry counterparty risks related to the issuer and custodian. The market for these assets is expanding as platforms integrate them into broader crypto services like margin trading and automated strategies. This evolution matters for the RWA market because it demonstrates how institutional-grade assets can be made accessible to global crypto users through continuous, fractionalized, and stablecoin-denominated trading environments.
$23 Billion in One Month: The Madness of Tokenized Stocks Takes Over Crypto
The tokenized stock market has experienced significant growth over the past month, characterized by a 179% surge in monthly transfer volume to $23.13 billion. Data from RWA.xyz indicates that the number of holders reached 1.31 million, while monthly active addresses rose by 34.62% to approximately 572,000. Distributed value across the sector grew by 5.9% to reach $2.38 billion, signaling increased investor engagement with blockchain-represented securities. Ondo currently leads the market with $872 million in distributed value, followed by Kraken’s xStocks at $557.8 million and Binance’s bStocks at $521.8 million. This competitive landscape is further populated by players like Securitize and various platforms offering pre-IPO exposure to companies like SpaceX. The rapid expansion reflects a broader trend in the tokenization of real-world assets, which Standard Chartered projects could reach a $4 trillion valuation by 2028. This momentum highlights the increasing integration of traditional financial instruments into decentralized ecosystems. The sustained growth of these platforms will be critical in determining the long-term viability of tokenized equities as a mainstream asset class.
Binance shakes up Kraken and seizes 2nd place worldwide in tokenized stocks
Binance has secured the second position in the tokenized stocks market, reaching a value of approximately 610.6 million dollars for its bStocks product. This milestone, achieved less than two months after the June 11 launch, allowed Binance to surpass Kraken’s xStocks, which currently holds 601.2 million dollars. Ondo Finance continues to lead the sector with a significant margin, maintaining a value of approximately 927 million dollars. The rapid growth of Binance's offering is largely attributed to its existing massive user base, which facilitates immediate product adoption. This shift occurs within a broader market expansion, as the total value of tokenized stocks tracked by Token Terminal has surged from 80 million dollars a year ago to 2.7 billion dollars today. The sector's momentum is further evidenced by a 105% monthly increase in transfer volumes, reaching 8.41 billion dollars in July. This competitive landscape highlights the increasing institutional and exchange-level focus on bringing traditional securities onto the blockchain to enhance accessibility and trading efficiency.
SODA Now Trading on Kraken Worldwide as SODAX Clears MiCA Compliance in the EU
The SODAX cross-network execution infrastructure has officially launched its SODA token on the Kraken exchange, following a 1:1 migration from the legacy ICX token. Trading is now live on Kraken across the Sonic and Arbitrum networks, with support for USD and EUR pairs. This listing coincides with SODAX securing MiCA-compliant status in the European Union, evidenced by a whitepaper notified to the Central Bank of Ireland. SODAX functions as a liquidity and execution layer that enables cross-chain transactions across 20 networks, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, without requiring traditional bridges. The SODA token serves as the governance and fee-accrual asset for this system, featuring a capped supply of 1.5 billion and a deflationary model driven by programmatic buy-backs. By aligning its infrastructure with European regulatory standards, SODAX aims to position itself as a compliant, institutional-grade solution for cross-chain liquidity. This development highlights the growing trend of infrastructure protocols seeking regulatory clarity to facilitate broader adoption in the evolving digital asset market.
Showing the 12 most recent of 40.