DUBAI, UAE and ST. HELIER, Jersey, July 23, 2026 — GTN, a fintech infrastructure provider, and Payward, the developer of the xStocks tokenised equities framework and parent company of Kraken, have announced a partnership to accelerate the global expansion of the xStocks platform. The collaboration marks the next phase of xStocks, extending its tokenised equities framework beyond U.S. stocks and ETFs to include equities from international markets and, over time, additional asset classes.

The partnership comes as tokenised real-world assets — blockchain-based representations of traditional financial instruments — continue to gain traction across the digital asset industry, with tokenised equities emerging as a growing segment that aims to bring conventional securities onchain for fractional access, faster settlement, and round-the-clock trading.

Subject to obtaining the required licences, the partnership also plans to bring tokenised assets to GTN's institutional client network.

Expanding into International Equities and New Asset Classes

The partnership creates a pathway for xStocks to scale the range of equities it tokenises. The expansion will begin with equities listed in Hong Kong, followed by UK-listed assets, European assets, South Korean assets, and other markets. According to the announcement, this would deliver international market access unmatched by any other tokenised equities framework currently available.

Cross-border regulatory fragmentation has historically been one of the primary barriers to scaling tokenised securities frameworks globally, making GTN's existing regulatory licensing across six jurisdictions a relevant factor in the expansion plan.

The collaboration also opens the possibility of extending xStocks beyond tokenised equities into new asset classes for the first time. For individual holders, this means tokenised assets from multiple global markets and asset classes could coexist in a single portfolio — held onchain, tradeable 24/7, and portable across the 100+ exchanges, wallets, and DeFi applications where xStocks already trade.

GTN's Role: Execution, Custody, and Infrastructure

GTN will provide global execution and custody for the traditional assets underlying xStocks' expansion. The company spans a broad range of asset classes across 90+ markets through a single integration, making the next phase of xStocks possible by providing a route to scale beyond U.S. equities to international equities and eventually new asset classes — each subject to regulatory approvals.

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

Because GTN operates across 90+ markets and multiple asset classes, the partnership also creates pathways for the xStocks ecosystem to diversify the assets it lists across the hundreds of centralised exchanges, self-custody wallets, and DeFi protocols where it already operates.

Executive Commentary

"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," said Ankit Shah, Global Head of FinTech, GTN. "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."

xStocks: One Year of Growth

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

Notably, xStocks tokenise U.S.-listed equities but are not offered to U.S. persons, reflecting the regulatory constraints that continue to shape where and how tokenised securities can be distributed.

The GTN partnership signals the start of xStocks' next phase, extending its framework beyond U.S. capital markets to investors globally. The partnership is already live, with tokenised distribution to GTN's institutional clients to follow once the required licences are secured. The pace and scope of that rollout will depend on regulatory approvals across each target market. The two companies stated they will share further details on enhanced offerings in the coming weeks.

About the Companies

Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products including Kraken, NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward separates infrastructure from product expression, operating on one global liquidity pool, one unified risk and margin engine, one collateral and settlement system, and one compliance and licensing framework. More information is available at www.payward.com.

xStocks is a tokenised equities framework bringing publicly listed U.S. stocks and ETFs onchain through fully collateralized, 1:1-backed tokens. Since launching in June 2025, it powers billions of dollars in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems. More information is available at

GTN is a global fintech infrastructure provider offering brokerage infrastructure spanning 90+ markets and 8 asset classes through a single API. With over 600 professionals across 14 countries serving 500+ clients globally, GTN is regulated across six jurisdictions (FCA, DFSA, MAS, FINRA, FSCA, SFC) and is backed by strategic investors including IFC (World Bank Group) and SBI Ventures Singapore. More information is available at www.gtngroup.com.

Regulatory Disclosures

This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice, nor 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"), licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and to eligible EU customers via Payward Europe Digital Solutions Ltd., authorised 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 registered with any local securities regulators. The availability of products and services varies by jurisdiction and is subject to local regulatory requirements and approvals. GTN's provision of any described services is subject to GTN obtaining relevant regulatory licences in each market.

Tokenised and cryptoasset products carry significant risk, including the risk of total loss, may be unregulated, and may not be covered by statutory compensation schemes. 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

This announcement contains forward-looking statements reflecting current expectations, subject to change due to regulatory, market, and technological developments. GTN and Payward undertake no obligation to update them.

Source: GTN via PRNewswire / Crypto Front News