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Kraken has announced the phased rollout of tokenized U.S. equities for eligible non-U.S. users, a major initiative aimed at democratizing access to global financial markets.
The initiative leverages Backed's xStocks. They will be issued on the Solana blockchain, offering 60 tokenized assets (comprising top U.S. stocks and ETFs) that are available for 24/7 trading directly from the Krak app.
The tokenized equities provide way more than just exposure to the traditional markets. You can withdraw xStocks to self-custodial wallets, use xStocks as collateral in DeFi, and trade them 24/7—all of which make it fundamentally more flexible than the traditional equivalent.
"For the first time, people all over the world can own and use a share of a tokenized stock like they would use money," said Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi.
"This is not about novelty—it's about shifting power back to individuals and removing barriers long imposed by geography or institutional gatekeepers."
Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, stated that tokenized equities represent the next stage of crypto evolution, creating a genuine intersection between traditional finance and a decentralized economy.
"This is about access, efficiency, and composability on a global scale."
The SPL-based tokens represent the first step of a broader rollout, with Kraken and Backed announcing plans to expand to other fast blockchains soon. The launch reforms access to capital markets, allowing them to be non-permissioned, open, and self-custodial.
This article has been published in TheStreet via Yahoo News.
