In a move bridging traditional finance and blockchain innovation, cryptocurrency exchange Bybit and Backed Finance have announced a partnership to introduce tokenized stocks to the Mantle Layer 2 blockchain network. The collaboration, revealed Friday, aims to make major public company shares such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Strategy accessible as digital assets.
Diana Paluteder
Backed Finance’s xStocks platform, already integrated with exchanges like Kraken and protocols across Solana such as Kamino, Raydium, and Jupiter, allows investors to trade tokenized versions of real-world equities. According to the company, xStocks has already surpassed $1.6 billion in on-chain trading volume.
Under this partnership, Mantle users will be able to deposit and withdraw funds seamlessly between Bybit and the blockchain, enhancing liquidity and simplifying onboarding. The integration is designed to make it easier for traders to interact with real-world assets (RWAs) in a decentralized environment.
The tokenization of traditional assets—such as equities and bonds—has gained momentum as a growing number of institutions look to merge familiar investment models with blockchain efficiency. Analysts expect the RWA sector to expand into a multi-trillion-dollar market, with tokenized equities leading the charge.
Backed’s xStocks are particularly aimed at non-U.S. investors, offering exposure to traditional equity markets through digital tokens that trade permissionlessly, 24/7, and across multiple ecosystems.
Emily Bao, an advisor at Mantle, said the initiative is about evolving tokenized equities “from static instruments into programmable assets that enable new innovations and use cases across the Mantle ecosystem.”
Bybit, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, brings its established user base and liquidity to the partnership. Meanwhile, Mantle positions itself as a “premier distribution layer” connecting institutional finance and blockchain liquidity. The network completed its transition to a zero-knowledge (ZK) rollup with Succinct Labs in late 2024, enhancing scalability and security.
“With tokenized equities set to arrive on Mantle, millions of users will be able to access them from apps and wallets they’re already familiar with,” the companies said in a joint statement.
This collaboration represents another step toward the fusion of traditional finance and decentralized technology, giving investors a new way to engage with global markets around the clock.
