Kraken Expands xStocks Service With Over 200 Tokenized UK and European Equities

Kraken parent company Payward has expanded its xStocks tokenized equities framework into the United Kingdom and European Union. The platform added more than 200 heavily traded regional companies to its blockchain infrastructure on Wednesday, including major corporate entities like HSBC, Shell, LVMH, and Airbus.[1][2][3]

The European rollout pushes the total number of tokenized assets available through the xStocks platform past 1,500. The service, which launched in June 2025 with United States equities and exchange-traded funds, now manages over $1.1 billion in assets for more than 550,000 unique holders globally.[1][4]

Every digital token issued on the platform is backed one-for-one by a corresponding traditional share. When an onchain investor purchases a token, the system automatically triggers the acquisition of the matching equity, which is then held by a regulated custodian for the lifetime of that digital asset.[1][5]

"Access to capital markets is still drawn on a map, and it still depends on holding the right passport," said Mark Greenberg, Payward's chief commercial officer. "We are building toward a single global market where any listed company can be held by any investor, whatever their address, their currency, or their local broker."[1][5]

To handle the traditional finance mechanics, Payward partnered with global brokerage GTN. The financial technology firm executes the underlying trades and provides the regulatory custody infrastructure for the physical securities backing each newly minted European and British token.[3][5]

Multi-Chain Infrastructure

The newly tokenized European equities are available immediately for trading on the Kraken exchange and through supporting xStocks Alliance platforms. They also integrate directly into decentralized finance applications across multiple blockchain networks, including Solana, Ethereum, TON, Ink, and X Layer.[1][2][3]

This multi-chain approach allows investors to move tokenized traditional assets across different blockchain ecosystems without relying on a single centralized ledger. The integration means demand from decentralized finance participants translates directly into purchasing pressure on the underlying European securities markets.[3][5]

"Tokenisation moves at the speed of the infrastructure beneath it," said Ankit Shah, GTN's global head of FinTech. "By combining GTN's global brokerage and custody infrastructure with the xStocks framework, we are bringing UK- and EU-listed equities to a broader global audience."[5]

GTN operates six regulated entities across jurisdictions that include the United Kingdom, Singapore, the United States, and Hong Kong. The firm's brokerage infrastructure covers more than 90 traditional markets, providing the necessary scale to bridge decentralized networks with legacy stock exchanges.[5]

Payward noted that the GTN arrangement enabled the company to create and deploy hundreds of new tokens within a matter of weeks. The speed of this European rollout demonstrates how quickly traditional financial assets can be ported onto blockchain rails once the underlying legal and custody frameworks are established.[5]

The Tokenized Equity Market

The addition of European equities arrives as the broader market capitalization for tokenized stocks approaches the $5 billion threshold. As of Wednesday, the total value of traditional shares represented on public blockchains stood at $4.88 billion, concentrated heavily among three primary issuers.[3]

Binance's bStocks platform currently leads the sector with $1.51 billion in assets, followed closely by Ondo Finance at $1.39 billion. Payward's xStocks ranks third, holding approximately 22 percent of the entire tokenized equities market with its $1.1 billion in managed assets.[3]

The issuer hierarchy has experienced significant shifts throughout 2026. While Ondo Finance maintained the top position for most of the year, Binance emerged as the fastest-growing contender in the sector, officially overtaking both Ondo and xStocks in total market capitalization during October.[3]

Despite the overall growth in assets under management, the tokenized stock market faced headwinds over the past 30 days. Eight of the ten largest tokenized equities by value lost ground during the month, driven primarily by sell-offs in the technology and semiconductor sectors that onchain buyers heavily favor.[4]

Trading volume data highlights a persistent divide between spot tokenization and derivative markets. On the decentralized exchange Hyperliquid, perpetual futures tracking stocks processed $3.1 billion in 24-hour volume, compared to $1.0 billion across the 250 largest fully backed spot tokens.[4]

Regulatory Paradoxes

While the xStocks expansion brings European and British companies onchain, regulatory barriers continue to dictate who can actually purchase them. The tokenized assets are accessible to investors in more than 110 international markets, but they remain strictly unavailable to residents of the United States.[1][4]

A similar paradox applies to the newly added British equities. Due to existing eligibility restrictions and local financial regulations, a retail investor based in the United Kingdom cannot legally purchase the tokenized version of London-listed companies like HSBC or Shell through the platform.[1][4]

These geographic restrictions highlight the ongoing friction between borderless blockchain technology and jurisdiction-bound financial laws. While the technical infrastructure allows instant global settlement, compliance requirements force issuers to geofence their offerings based on the user's passport and physical address.[4][5]

Payward is actively working to bridge this regulatory gap in the British market through a formal partnership with the London Stock Exchange. Announced in September, the collaboration aims to tokenize the 100 largest companies listed in London for institutional and regulated trading.[1][3]

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Subject to regulatory approval from British financial authorities, the London Stock Exchange plans to list xStocks and enable trading through its LSE 24 venue in 2027. That integration would represent a major milestone in merging decentralized tokenization with a legacy national exchange.[3][5]

The Next Phase of Expansion

Following the successful deployment of the European and British tranches, Payward is preparing to expand its tokenized offerings into Asian markets. The company expects to introduce hundreds of Hong Kong-listed stocks to the xStocks framework over the next few weeks.[1][3]

The rapid geographic expansion reflects the accelerating adoption of tokenized real-world assets since the platform's debut 17 months ago. What began as a narrow experiment with United States technology stocks has broadened into a comprehensive alternative to traditional international brokerage accounts.[1][5]

The platform's user base has grown alongside its asset catalog, reaching more than 550,000 unique holders globally. This retail and institutional adoption demonstrates a sustained appetite for holding traditional equities within self-custodial cryptocurrency wallets rather than legacy brokerage accounts.[1][5]

Transaction metrics further validate the model's traction among global investors. Since its launch in 2025, the xStocks platform has processed more than $45 billion in cumulative trading volume, proving that blockchain networks can handle the throughput required for traditional equity trading.[1][3]

The success of the European rollout will test whether onchain investors possess the same appetite for legacy banking and energy stocks as they do for volatile technology shares. Historically, crypto-native buyers have overwhelmingly favored high-growth assets like SpaceX and Nvidia over traditional dividend-paying equities.[4]

The next verifiable test for the borderless portfolio concept arrives with the impending Hong Kong rollout later this month. Market participants will then look toward 2027, when British regulators must decide whether to approve the London Stock Exchange's plan to bring these tokenized assets into the heart of traditional British finance.[1][3]