GTN and Payward have formed a partnership to expand the xStocks tokenised equities framework beyond U.S. stocks and ETFs, with plans to add equities from international markets and, over time, other asset classes, subject to required licences and regulatory approvals.

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 tokenised equities framework and parent company of Kraken, said the partnership is intended to enhance and accelerate the global expansion of xStocks.

The companies said the arrangement creates a path for xStocks to broaden the range of equities it tokenises, starting with equities listed in Hong Kong. The framework is then expected to expand to UK-listed assets, European assets, South Korean assets and other markets. The partnership also creates the opportunity for xStocks to move beyond tokenised equities for the first time by adding new tokenised asset classes.

The planned expansion into international equities comes as tokenised real-world assets have become one of the most active areas of development in digital asset markets, with both blockchain-native platforms and traditional financial institutions exploring ways to bring conventional financial instruments onchain. However, extending tokenised equities across borders requires navigating varied securities regulations in each jurisdiction, a factor that has shaped the pace of rollouts across the broader tokenisation sector.

For individual holders, the companies said the expansion would allow tokenised assets from markets around the world, and across multiple asset classes, to be held side by side in one onchain portfolio. Those assets would be tradeable 24/7 and portable across the more than 100 exchanges, wallets and DeFi applications where xStocks already trade.

GTN will provide global execution and custody for the traditional assets underlying the planned xStocks expansion. Through a single integration, GTN spans 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 equities listed in international markets and, over time, into new asset classes, with each step subject to regulatory approvals.

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

Because GTN covers multiple 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 centralised exchanges, self-custody wallets and DeFi protocols where xStocks already trade.

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

The companies said the GTN partnership marks the beginning of xStocks' next phase by extending the framework beyond U.S. capital markets for investors around the world. The partnership is already live, with tokenised distribution to GTN's institutional clients expected to follow once the required licences are in place. GTN and Payward said they plan to 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 designed to advance 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 a tokenized equities framework that brings 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 move between centralized exchanges, self-custodied wallets and onchain applications, supporting uses 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 anchors an expanding global network for tokenized markets. More information is available at

About GTN

GTN is a global fintech infrastructure company providing investment access through a unified API-first architecture. By combining cloud-native technology with institutional expertise, GTN provides brokers, banks, asset managers and fintechs with brokerage infrastructure spanning more than 90 markets and 8 asset classes through a single API.

The company enables partners to build investing and trading experiences ranging from fractional trading and micro-portfolios, including $1 fractional bonds, to full-service brokerage. GTN automates the investment lifecycle from digital onboarding to post-trade settlement. 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, a member of the World Bank Group, and SBI Ventures Singapore. More information is available at www.gtngroup.com and 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. They are also offered to eligible EU customers via Payward Europe Digital Solutions Ltd., a company 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, and will not be, 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 services described is subject to GTN obtaining the 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. 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 that reflect current expectations and are subject to change, including as a result of regulatory, market and technological developments. GTN and Payward undertake no obligation to update them.

SOURCE GTN

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