Kraken launches tokenized U.S. securities trading in Europe

Kraken has launched tokenized U.S. stocks across the European Union, giving users in the region direct access to over 60 equities tied to real companies like Apple, Meta, and GameStop.

The new feature runs on xStocks, a blockchain platform created by Backed Finance, and is part of Kraken’s global rollout that first began in May. Users in Europe can now trade these assets on-chain, around the clock, no matter when traditional markets are closed.

Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said:

“‘Why xStocks? Why tokenized assets?’ Because if you own a share, you should own it. If someone is going to make money off of it, from staking or otherwise, then it should be passed on to the person who owns it, versus the institution, which is how traditional finance works today.”

Kraken follows Robinhood’s earlier launch in Europe

These blockchain-based shares are designed to track actual stock prices without needing to go through traditional brokers or exchanges. Each token represents a digital version of a stock, but they’re not issued by the actual companies themselves.

Instead, they’re created by third parties, giving users the chance to access major U.S. equities without touching the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. Unlike regular shares, the tokenized version can also be used as collateral in other blockchain systems, making them more flexible in crypto-native platforms.

The total size of this market is still relatively small, with the tokenized stock market valued at around $421 million. But the trend has already seen competition. Earlier this year, Robinhood launched a similar product for European users.

That platform added access to tokenized shares of private companies like OpenAI, a move that later triggered backlash when OpenAI warned investors not to buy them. Kraken’s approach stays closer to traditional names, avoiding private firms and instead sticking to public stocks only.

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