Latest news with #xStocks
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kraken To List Tokenized Version of Nvidia, Apple, Tesla Shares
Kraken plans to list tokenized shares of Nvidia, Apple, Tesla and over 50 other U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the Wall Street Journal reported. The tokens, deployed on Solana SOL, will be known under the name 'xStocks' and will be available to trade 24/7 for investors all across the world. Some of the ETFs that will be available to trade include the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500 index, and the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD). The stocks will be represented by real shares held by Backed Finance and can be redeemed 1:1 for their cash value. Kraken had announced the initial rollout of over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs in April, starting with 10 U.S. states and offered through Kraken Securities. This latest announcement expands Kraken's offering to include tokenized versions of over 50 stocks and ETFs to customers outside of the U.S., starting with Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia. The move puts Kraken in direct competition to platforms like Robinhood (HOOD) and makes it the first exchange to successfully offer tokenized shares of major U.S. stocks. Binance attempted to launch tokenized U.S. stocks in 2021 but canceled their plans eventually due to regulatory uncertainty. A Kraken spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the exchange is 'actively working with various regulators' to ensure that xStocks can be offered legally in each jurisdiction as regulation varies. Tokenization, which turns real-world assets into blockchain tokens, has become the latest buzz word in crypto with more and more companies starting to enter the space. Some, including Ondo Finance, BlackRock and Franklin Templeton, have long been pioneers in the area, pushing their overall tokenization market to a $65 billion market cap as of May.
Business Wire
22-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Kraken Partners with Backed to Launch xStocks on Solana, Bringing Tokenized Equities to the Masses
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kraken, a technology platform built on crypto that unlocks access and reduces inefficiencies to drive financial freedom, today announced a strategic partnership with Backed, the pioneering issuer of tokenized stocks, and the Solana Foundation to bring tokenized U.S. equities to investors worldwide. Announced at Solana Accelerate, Backed will initially deploy SPL-based digital representations of U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs on the Solana blockchain. These tokenized assets will soon be available to eligible Kraken clients in select non-U.S. markets directly through the Kraken app. As part of the rollout, Backed is launching xStocks, a new tokenized equities brand designed to empower crypto platforms to offer onchain exposure to U.S. equities – with Kraken as its first launch partner. Kraken selected Solana as the launch chain for xStocks because of its unmatched performance, low latency and thriving global ecosystem. As the most used public blockchain in the world, Solana provides the ideal foundation for bringing equities onchain at internet scale. 'We're reimagining equities investing and ushering in a new wave of demand from clients seeking better alternatives to the status quo,' said Mark Greenberg, Kraken's Global Head of Consumer. 'Access to traditional U.S. equities remains slow, costly, and restricted. With xStocks, we're using blockchain technology to deliver something better – open, instant, accessible, and borderless exposure to some of America's most iconic companies. This is what the future of investing looks like.' 'This collaboration marks a pivotal moment in democratizing access to traditional finance. By bringing exposure to U.S. equities onchain we're unlocking a new era of DeFi composable, 24/7 global markets,' said Adam Levi, Cofounder of Backed. 'xStocks's infrastructure is designed to seamlessly bridge the gap between traditional and decentralized finance, and we couldn't ask for a more forward-thinking partner than Kraken to lead this charge. xStocks are designed to be a neutral, public good asset class, and we look forward to expanding xStocks to other exchanges and chains.' "This collaboration is a powerful step toward realizing the vision of internet capital markets and global, 24/7, permissionless access to the financial system," said Amelia Daly, Head of Partnerships at Solana Foundation. "By bringing tokenized U.S. equities onchain with Solana's high-performance infrastructure, this product is showing how public blockchains can unlock entirely new investing experiences at internet scale. This is what it means to build for the future of finance." Launching xStocks on Kraken builds on increasing equities momentum, and signals an intent to grow access to equities-related products worldwide. In April, Kraken launched the trading of 11,000+ U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs for U.S. clients, and plans to expand this offering to users in the U.K., Europe, and Australia in the future. Looking ahead, Kraken and Backed will also explore opportunities to bring tokenized equities to additional chains beyond Solana, accelerating innovation and expanding access to global markets like never before. About Kraken Kraken is one of the world's longest-standing and most secure crypto platforms. Our mission is to accelerate the global adoption of crypto, so that everyone can achieve financial freedom and inclusion. Globally, Kraken clients trade more than 300 digital assets and 6 different national currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, CHF, and AUD. Founded in 2011, Kraken was among the first to offer spot trading with margin, parachain auctions, staking, regulated derivatives and index services under one roof. With millions of individuals, traders and institutions around the world, Kraken offers professional 24/7/365 client support along with one of the fastest, most performant trading platforms available. Kraken has set the industry standard for transparency and client trust, and was the first crypto platform to conduct Proof of Reserves. Kraken markets can be monitored and traded via the web or through the Kraken and Kraken Pro iOS and Android apps. For more information about Kraken, please visit
