Kraken Parent Payward Expands xStocks With 200+ Tokenized UK and EU Stocks
Key Takeaways
- •Payward announced that Kraken's xStocks platform has added tokenized versions of more than 200 UK and EU-listed stocks, including all 40 members of Germany's DAX index such as SAP, Siemens, Allianz, and Deutsche Telekom.
- •The new tokens can be traded by eligible users on Kraken and participating xStocks Alliance platforms, but they remain unavailable to investors in the United Kingdom.
- •Deutsche Börse said the tokenized DAX 40 equities are tradable on its affiliated 360X platform, with around-the-clock trading supported on select venues, unlike the fixed sessions of traditional exchanges.
- •xStocks tokens are backed one-to-one by shares held with a regulated custodian, giving holders price exposure without voting rights or legal claims to the underlying stock.
- •With the additions, xStocks offers more than 1,500 tokenized assets, holds a $1.1 billion market capitalization ranking third behind Binance's bStocks and Ondo Finance, and Payward plans to add hundreds of Hong Kong-listed equities in the coming weeks.
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, said Wednesday that its xStocks platform has added tokenized versions of more than 200 stocks listed in the United Kingdom and European Union.
Eligible users can trade the new tokens on Kraken and participating xStocks Alliance platforms, according to a company announcement, though the tokens remain unavailable to investors in the UK.
The expansion covers all 40 companies in Germany's benchmark DAX index, including software maker SAP, industrial group Siemens, insurer Allianz and telecommunications firm Deutsche Telekom. In a separate Wednesday announcement, Deutsche Börse said the tokens are available for trading on its affiliated 360X platform, with 24/7 trading supported on select venues. The exchange operator described the offering as enabling around-the-clock global trading for tokenized DAX 40 equities, a contrast with the fixed trading sessions during which the underlying shares change hands on traditional exchanges.
Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based representations of traditional equities that give users price exposure to listed companies without direct ownership of the underlying shares. According to Payward, the newly added tokens are backed one-to-one by shares held with a regulated custodian. Kraken's risk disclosure states that xStocks tokens give holders exposure to the shares' performance without conferring voting rights or legal claims to the stock itself.
The latest additions bring xStocks' total offering to more than 1,500 tokenized assets, according to Payward, which also reported more than $45 billion in cumulative transaction volume and over 550,000 unique holders.
Data from Token Terminal put xStocks' market capitalization at $1.1 billion, roughly 22% of the $4.9 billion in tokenized stocks tracked by the firm. That positions xStocks third in the sector, behind Binance's bStocks at $1.5 billion and Ondo Finance at $1.4 billion.
Payward said it plans to add hundreds of Hong Kong-listed equities in the coming weeks, outlining a further expansion beyond the UK and European markets.
Related: Kraken launches xChange engine to power tokenized stock trading
Source: Cointelegraph
