Kraken is bringing its xStocks product to Europe, opening the door for more investors to access tokenized versions of major U.S. equities through blockchain technology. The move comes as tokenized assets gain traction worldwide, reshaping how traditional markets interact with digital finance.
“For too long, it’s been unnecessarily challenging to gain exposure to U.S. markets, and with xStocks we’re removing many of the barriers,” said Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s Global Head of Consumer.
Launched in June in partnership with tokenization startup Backed, xStocks allows users to trade blockchain-based certificates that mirror the price of more than 50 popular U.S. stocks, including Nvidia and Google. Unlike traditional brokers, these assets can be moved into self-custody wallets or even used within decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Kraken highlighted that xStocks is designed to reduce friction for European investors, cutting out issues like costly currency conversions, settlement delays, and high platform fees.
Adoption has been rapid. Since launch, xStocks has already recorded more than $3.8 billion in trading volume across centralized and decentralized platforms, according to data from Dune Analytics. Kraken is also expanding technical support for the tokens, adding compatibility with BEP-20 on the BNB Chain. In recent months, the company has partnered with Tron DAO to extend availability to the Tron blockchain, with further integrations on the roadmap.
The exchange said it plans to continue building xStocks on additional blockchains with “thriving ecosystems,” pointing to Ink and others as upcoming targets.
Tokenized equities are part of a broader wave of real-world asset tokenization, a trend that many see as transformative for global markets. By linking traditional assets to blockchain, advocates argue that the process delivers more efficiency, transparency, and accessibility to investors.
“We believe xStocks aren’t just a technical evolution — they represent a fundamental shift in how capital markets will operate: borderless, decentralized, permissionless, and onchain,” Kraken said in a statement.
