GTN and Payward have entered into a partnership to expand the xStocks tokenized equities framework beyond U.S. stocks and ETFs, with plans to include equities from international markets and, over time, other asset classes. Subject to required licenses, the companies also plan to make tokenized assets available through GTN’s institutional network.

DUBAI, UAE and ST. HELIER, Jersey, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — GTN, a fintech company focused on investment infrastructure, and Payward, the developer of the xStocks tokenized equities framework and parent company of Kraken, announced a partnership intended to support and accelerate the global expansion of xStocks.

The agreement creates a path for xStocks to broaden the range of equities it tokenizes, starting with equities listed in Hong Kong. The companies said the framework is then expected to expand to UK-listed assets, European assets, South Korean assets, and other markets. They said the expansion is intended to provide broader international market access than currently offered by other tokenized frameworks. The move comes as tokenization of real-world assets has become one of the fastest-growing segments in digital finance, with traditional asset managers, exchanges, and blockchain platforms all racing to bring conventional financial instruments onchain.

The partnership also creates the possibility for xStocks to move beyond tokenized equities for the first time and expand into new tokenized asset classes. For individual holders, the companies said this could allow tokenized assets from multiple global markets and asset classes to be held side by side in one onchain portfolio, tradable 24/7 and portable across more than 100 exchanges, wallets, and DeFi applications where xStocks already trade. Tokenized equities aim to address long-standing constraints of traditional markets, including limited trading hours, geographic restrictions on cross-border investing, and multi-day settlement cycles.

GTN will provide global execution and custody for the traditional assets that underlie the planned xStocks expansion. Through a single integration, GTN supports a broad range of asset classes across more than 90 markets. The companies said this infrastructure provides a route for xStocks to scale beyond U.S. equities into international listed equities and, over time, new asset classes, with each expansion subject to regulatory approvals.

Under the agreement, GTN will provide infrastructure supporting the ledgering and record-keeping of tokenized products, helping token issuers account for the underlying assets. Subject to GTN obtaining the required licenses in each market, GTN would also make a range of xStocks available to its institutional clients alongside its existing offering.

Because GTN’s infrastructure spans asset classes across more than 90 markets, the partnership also creates pathways for the xStocks ecosystem to diversify the assets listed across the hundreds of centralized exchanges, self-custody wallets, and DeFi protocols where xStocks already trades.

“For decades, we’ve accepted that capital markets should be fragmented by country, currency, and market hours,” said Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services. “That’s a legacy financial infrastructure problem. The biggest asset class that hasn’t been tokenized yet is the rest of the world, and our partnership with GTN is about changing that. One asset at a time, we’re bringing truly global capital markets onchain until geography becomes irrelevant to investing.”

“Financial institutions want to move into new asset classes and markets without rebuilding their technology. Our infrastructure lets partners like Payward launch quickly across 90+ markets and a full range of instruments, and it includes the sub-accounting technology Kraken needs to offer tokenised products. We are delighted that Payward has selected GTN as a global product expansion partner,” said Ankit Shah, Global Head of FinTech at GTN.

xStocks launched a year ago with tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs backed 1:1 by the underlying assets. Since then, it has expanded to more than 500 tokenized assets spanning equities, ETFs, and IPOs, which the companies described as the widest range offered by any tokenized equities framework. xStocks now powers more than $35 billion in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems and has nearly 200,000 holders worldwide.

The companies said the GTN partnership marks the start of xStocks’ next phase, extending the framework beyond U.S. capital markets for investors globally. The partnership is already live, with tokenized distribution to GTN’s institutional clients expected to follow after the required licenses are in place. GTN and Payward said they aim to combine GTN’s regulated infrastructure with Payward’s platform to make a wider range of assets and markets accessible to institutions worldwide. They also said they will share details on enhanced offerings in the coming weeks.

About Payward

Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products intended to support an open, global financial system. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward enables customers to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction or fragmentation.

Payward provides the infrastructure layer behind Kraken and a growing set of purpose-built products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks.

The company separates infrastructure from product expression. Each product surface is designed for a specific customer segment, regulatory regime, and use case, while operating on the same global foundation: one global liquidity pool; one unified risk and margin engine; one collateral and settlement system; and one compliance and licensing framework.

Payward said this shared architecture allows it to scale efficiently, launch new products at low marginal cost, and serve diverse global markets while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory integrity, and operational resilience. More information is available at www.payward.com.

About xStocks

xStocks is described by the companies as an industry benchmark for tokenized equities, bringing publicly listed U.S. stocks and ETFs onchain through fully collateralized, 1:1-backed tokens. Powered by Payward’s digital asset infrastructure, xStocks provides exposure to traditional equities on blockchain infrastructure, with extended availability, global reach, and digital-native settlement.

Designed for interoperability, xStocks can move between centralized exchanges, self-custodied wallets, and onchain applications, enabling use across trading, collateralization, and decentralized finance. Since launching in June 2025, xStocks has powered billions of dollars in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems and has anchored a growing global network for tokenized markets. More information is available at

About GTN

GTN is a global fintech infrastructure provider for investment services, operating through a unified API-first architecture. The company combines cloud-native technology with institutional expertise to provide brokers, banks, asset managers, and fintechs with brokerage infrastructure spanning more than 90 markets and 8 asset classes through a single API.

GTN’s infrastructure enables partners to build investing and trading experiences ranging from fractional trading and micro-portfolios, including $1 fractional bonds, to full-service brokerage. The company automates the investment lifecycle from digital onboarding to post-trade settlement. Acting as a single counterparty, GTN said it reduces technical and regulatory burdens for investment banks, brokerage firms, and wealth management firms seeking to scale without building technology from scratch.

GTN has more than 600 professionals across 14 countries and serves more than 500 clients globally. The company is regulated across six jurisdictions — FCA, DFSA, MAS, FINRA, FSCA, and SFC — and is backed by strategic investors including IFC, part of the World Bank Group, and SBI Ventures Singapore. More information is available at www.gtngroup.com, and the company can also be followed on LinkedIn.

Important information

The announcement is for informational purposes only. It is not investment, legal, or tax advice, and it is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security, token, or other financial instrument.

xStocks are issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited, a Jersey private limited company, and offered to eligible Kraken customers via Payward Digital Solutions Ltd. (“PDSL”), a company licensed to conduct digital asset business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. xStocks are also offered to eligible EU customers via Payward Europe Digital Solutions Ltd., a company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.

xStocks are not offered or available in the United States or to U.S. persons, and other geographic restrictions apply. xStocks are not, and will not be, registered with any local securities regulators. Product and service availability varies by jurisdiction and is subject to local regulatory requirements and approvals. GTN’s provision of any services described in the announcement is subject to GTN obtaining the relevant regulatory licenses in each market.

Tokenized and cryptoasset products carry significant risk, including the risk of total loss, may be unregulated, and may not be covered by statutory compensation schemes. The value of investments can go down as well as up. Kraken’s xStocks Risk Disclosure is available at kraken.com/legal/xstocks, and the Base Prospectus and related Final Terms for xStocks are available at

The announcement contains forward-looking statements reflecting current expectations and subject to change, including as a result of regulatory, market, and technological developments. GTN and Payward said they undertake no obligation to update them.

SOURCE GTN