Kraken xStocks, the tokenized equities offering from crypto exchange Kraken, has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management. Payward, the infrastructure company behind Kraken, announced the milestone in a press release, saying it was reached on October 27 as tokenized stock offerings expand across crypto markets.

Assets have more than quadrupled since February, when they stood near $225 million, according to Payward. The company also reported more than $45 billion in cumulative transaction volume and more than 550,000 holders across the tokenized equities ecosystem. The climb from roughly $225 million to more than $1 billion in about eight months underscores how quickly the segment has scaled since Kraken entered the market in June 2025.

The framework lets eligible users hold tokens linked to stocks and exchange-traded funds across supported platforms. The products, however, carry restrictions and do not provide the same rights as owning shares directly. The tokens are issued by Jersey-based Backed Assets (JE) Limited. Tokenized equities sit within a broader push to represent traditional financial assets on blockchains, a category often described as tokenized real-world assets.

Expansion Across Global Markets

Payward launched Kraken xStocks in June 2025 with 60 tokenized US stocks and ETFs on Solana. According to the company, the ecosystem now spans more than 1,500 tokenized representations of stocks, funds and IPO exposure, covering assets from the US, UK, Europe and Hong Kong. Payward says tokenized representations of Russell 1000 constituents are also live within the ecosystem.

The broader count does not mean every product is available on Kraken or in every market. Kraken's support page listed 131 assets as of October 30 and noted geographic restrictions.

Kraken xStocks tokens can be transferred to compatible wallets and used on supported blockchain applications. Payward says the ecosystem now operates across more than ten blockchains, with more than $100 million in tokens deployed in decentralized finance (DeFi) — roughly a tenth of the ecosystem's reported assets under management. Some protocols allow eligible holders to use the tokens as collateral or lend them. Bybit, another crypto exchange, has enabled six xStocks as collateral for certain lending and margin products, though availability depends on the platform and user eligibility.

Kraken xStocks can also trade outside standard stock market hours. According to Kraken, most trade around the clock on weekdays, while selected assets are available on weekends on Kraken Pro. Direct issuance and redemption through the issuer operate on weekdays, even when secondary trading continues over weekends.

Changes in underlying share prices can also affect assets under management, alongside investor purchases and redemptions. Payward's $45 billion figure measures cumulative transactions across the ecosystem and is separate from the value of assets under management.

Ownership Structure and Restrictions

Backed Assets (JE) Limited issues Kraken xStocks as digital debt instruments called tracker certificates. According to the issuer, each certificate is collateralized by the corresponding stock or fund, held with regulated custodians. The structure gives holders economic exposure to an underlying asset rather than direct ownership of its shares.

Kraken says holders receive no voting rights and no direct claim to the underlying company's stock. Investors do not receive ordinary cash dividends; instead, Kraken says dividend proceeds can be reinvested into the underlying asset and reflected in token balances through an adjustment.

Kraken xStocks are unavailable to US persons and to customers in the UK, Canada and Australia. Availability can differ across eligible countries and trading platforms.

According to Kraken's disclosures, the products carry issuer, custody and liquidity risks. Using the tokens in DeFi can additionally create smart contract and liquidation risks, and lower liquidity outside regular exchange hours can widen the spread between buyers and sellers.

Competition and Regulatory Developments

Competition is growing across the tokenized equities market. Ondo Finance, which offers competing products, said its Ondo Stocks products passed $1 billion in total value locked in May 2026 — a different metric from assets under management, but another billion-dollar marker for the sector.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is developing rules for a separate form of tokenized stock trading. It granted conditional relief to qualifying venues in September and gave some issuers a chance to object. On such venues, tokens must provide holders the same rights as conventional shares.

Microsoft, Alphabet and Goldman Sachs later objected to their shares trading on the proposed OKXICE venue. That proposed US venue would operate under a separate framework from the offshore xStocks offering. For now, the two models remain on separate regulatory tracks while the SEC's rulemaking continues.