Kraken has officially gone live with xStocks, bringing over 60 U.S. stocks to its platform in tokenized form.
This marks a new chapter in the growing overlap between crypto and traditional finance, giving users outside the U.S. access to household equities like Apple and Amazon, but onchain.
These xStocks, developed by blockchain firm Backed, run as SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain, enabling 24/7 trading with blockchain-native speed and transparency.
Previously announced earlier this year, Kraken’s rollout of xStocks caters to users in select non-U.S. regions, where regulatory restrictions are more lenient.
The assets are freely transferable on Solana and tradable on platforms such as Kraken, Bybit, and decentralized apps like Raydium and Jupiter.
This positions xStocks as a stepping stone between centralized finance and DeFi, aimed at making equity exposure available through the same tools crypto users already trust.
Tokenized equities meet DeFi UX
Backed, the firm behind xStocks, says it’s pushing tokenized capital markets to the forefront, bridging blue-chip stocks with DeFi accessibility.
The tokens represent popular U.S. equities and ETFs, including tickers like SPYx, AAPLx, TSLAx, and METAx, and are now supported by a wide array of Solana-native platforms.
Through lending on Kamino, liquidity provision on Raydium, or swapping via Jupiter, traders can engage with tokenized stocks much like they do with memecoins or stablecoins.
Bybit, which listed xStocks on day one, joins Kraken as a key venue for these tokenized equities. The move aligns with Bybit’s broader TradFi ambitions and integrates into its new product suite that includes forex and gold CFDs.
Meanwhile, Backed also confirmed that these tokenized equities are available for trading through Phantom, Solana’s flagship wallet, making it easy for retail users to get involved without jumping through traditional brokerage hoops.
