Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken and the firm behind xStocks, has partnered with Ledger, one of the best-known makers of cryptocurrency hardware wallets, to bring hundreds of tokenized equities to Ledger Wallet. The integration gives eligible Ledger users onchain access to U.S. and international stocks around the clock, extending equity trading beyond traditional market hours while assets remain in self-custody.

The move is the latest sign that tokenized equities — blockchain-based representations of publicly listed shares — are increasingly embedding themselves in crypto's self-custody ecosystem. Tokenized equities have grown into one of the more active corners of the broader asset-tokenization trend, as trading platforms look to offer exposure to traditional securities without the constraints of exchange opening hours. For Ledger, the deal also broadens what a self-custody wallet can hold: alongside cryptocurrencies, users can now keep blockchain-based versions of publicly listed shares.

The announcement was made by the xStocks team on X on September 24, 2026:

xStocks is now live on @Ledger .

Through Payward's new partnership with Ledger, we're bringing hundreds of US and international tokenized equities to Ledger Wallet™.

24/7 market access for millions of Ledger users. pic.twitter.com/XE3bugy7Me

— xStocks (@xStocksFi) September 24, 2026

(@xsFi on X)

xStocks Lands Inside Ledger Wallet

The partnership connects the two platforms, layering Payward's xStocks marketplace onto Ledger's hardware-backed custody environment. Eligible users can buy, sell, and transfer supported tokenized equities without compromising control of their wallet keys, a combination that bridges the convenience of exchange-based trading with the security of offline key storage. The "eligible" qualifier signals that access depends on meeting the platforms' eligibility requirements.

According to Payward, the integration spans hundreds of tokenized equities from U.S. and global markets. xStocks are 1:1-backed representations of publicly traded shares, designed to pair blockchain-enabled transfers with instantaneous, around-the-clock access to equity exposure.

The setup also introduces an added layer of security for Kraken users: supported transactions may need to be signed by a Ledger device and receive physical confirmation before any assets move.

$42 Billion in Cumulative xStocks Volume

Payward said xStocks has surpassed $42 billion in cumulative transaction volume, a figure the company pointed to as evidence of how quickly tokenized equities are growing. Payward noted that the number represents total activity across the xStocks ecosystem rather than the holdings of individual Ledger users.

xStocks has also expanded onto intent-based trading venues. In August, five tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs went live on HyperCore, Hyperliquid's native spot-market order-book environment, bringing tokenized equities into an on-chain order-book setting. Taken together with the Ledger integration, xStocks now spans both trading venues and self-custody storage.

Tokenized Equities Move Into Self-Custody

With the Ledger integration in place, users can store their tokenized stocks in self-custody while interacting with trading and transaction services through Ledger's infrastructure — a setup aimed at crypto users accustomed to managing their own private keys rather than delegating custody to an exchange. For the tokenized-equity sector, it closes a loop: rather than living only on a trading platform, tokenized stocks can now sit in a hardware-secured wallet like any other crypto asset.

Ledger's hardware wallets keep signing credentials isolated from internet connections, and transactions are authorized by the individual user directly on the device.

Payward co-CEO David Ripley said the companies are working to connect self-custody with trading and the wider financial system.

xStocks Pushes Beyond U.S. Equities

Payward has been broadening xStocks beyond the U.S. equity market. In July, the company partnered with global fintech GTN to extend coverage to international equities, beginning with assets listed on the Hong Kong exchange before expanding to markets including the U.K., Europe, and South Korea.

In September, Payward also entered a partnership with the London Stock Exchange to conduct research into the tokenization of publicly traded equities and the potential launch of trading on LSE 24, subject to regulatory approval. That regulatory sign-off remains the gating step, making LSE 24 a development to track as tokenized equities move closer to traditional exchange infrastructure.

With the addition, the growing tokenized-equity economy is now accessible to Ledger users alongside their cryptocurrencies, all within self-custody wallets.

Source: CryptoNinjas