Have you ever asked yourself: Why can’t I trade stocks at 2 a.m.? Why is it still so difficult and expensive to access U.S. equities from outside the U.S.? Can’t crypto fix that?
The truth is simple: Traditional finance (TradFi) hasn’t kept up with the pace of innovation. Global markets still operate on outdated rails, with limited hours, high fees and layers of friction that exclude far too many people. We see the revolution of crypto as a disrupting force that can solve real-world financial problems – and tokenized equities are the next frontier.
Today, we’re excited to announce that Kraken will soon offer xStocks – an exciting new tokenized equities brand developed by Backed – to clients in select non-U.S. markets worldwide.
These clients will be able to gain exposure to several popular U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, issued as SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain. These xStocks assets can be traded both on our platform as well as onchain through compatible wallet providers, allowing users to leverage their xStocks as collateral in ways that simply is not possible through TradFi.
“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 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 move marks a major milestone in our broader strategy to bridge TradFi and crypto. It follows our recent rollout of equities trading for U.S. clients, giving millions of Americans access to over 11,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs directly within the Kraken app. We’re planning to expand that offering to clients in the U.K., Europe and Australia soon.
With xStocks, we’re taking the next step: Democratizing access to equities on a global scale. We plan to steadily expand both the range of tokenized assets and the jurisdictions where xStocks are available, unlocking global access to equities markets like never before.
Stay tuned — the next generation of equities investing is just getting started.
The value of an investment may go down as well as up and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Read Kraken’s xStocks Risk Disclosure at kraken.com/legal/xstocks as well as the Base Prospectus and related Final Terms for xStocks (available on backed.fi) to learn more.
