xStocks Launch on Ethereum

Kraken and Backed expand access to tokenized equities on the Ethereum Mainnet, the world’s largest blockchain.

We’re excited to announce the next major step in the rapid growth of xStocks, the industry’s gold standard for tokenized equities. In partnership with Backed, Kraken is bringing xStocks to the Ethereum blockchain, unlocking a new wave of opportunities for tokenized stocks and ETFs to be integrated across the world’s most widely adopted smart contract network.

Ethereum’s vibrant developer community, deep liquidity, and global user base make it a natural home for the next phase of xStocks’ expansion. By extending Kraken’s support of xStocks to Ethereum, we’re enabling millions of Ethereum users and thousands of live applications to source the industry standard for tokenized equities liquidity.

In the coming weeks, eligible Kraken clients will be able to deposit and withdraw xStocks directly on Ethereum, providing investors greater choice and flexibility to transfer assets between the Kraken platform and self-custodial wallets for on-chain activity.

As part of the integration, Backed will issue xStocks as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, ensuring full 1:1 collateralization for every tokenized equity listed on Kraken’s platform.

Ethereum ecosystem partners will also work to expand xStocks integrations across DeFi protocols, wallets, and dApps – bringing tokenized equities into one of the largest and most innovative communities in Web3.

Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO, said:

“xStocks is a core part of our vision to bring traditional assets onto trust-minimized infrastructure and integrate public markets into the internet’s base layer. Our multi-chain strategy is deliberate. It ensures tokenized equities are accessible across ecosystems, portable between wallets and protocols, and composable within the applications users already trust. Ethereum is the next logical step. It is the center of gravity for smart contract innovation, on-chain liquidity, and decentralized finance. By launching xStocks on Ethereum, we are making tokenized equities programmable, interoperable, and continuously accessible to builders and institutions worldwide. This is not just about product expansion. It is about anchoring capital markets to the most secure and transparent rails available.”

Roberto Klein, Backed’s co-founder, said:

“Through the expansion of xStocks to Ethereum Mainnet, xStocks tap into the largest pool of on-chain liquidity and connect to the most well-established DeFi protocols in the space. xStocks are designed for composability. We look forward to working with these teams and developing xStocks to their full potential.”

The road ahead for xStocks

Bringing xStocks to Ethereum continues our mission to bring traditional equities on-chain and open access to capital markets worldwide. Having already launched xStocks to Kraken clients via Solana, and recently expanded to the BNB chain and the TRON network, xStocks has quickly established itself as the global standard for tokenized equities.

Today, xStocks are available to Kraken clients in over 140 countries, as well as users of many competing centralized exchanges, decentralized exchanges and self-custodial wallets. Since launching in late June, xStocks has already eclipsed $3.5 billion in combined CEX and DEX volume, a clear signal of both market demand for this asset class and xStocks’ leading category position.

Our multi-chain strategy for xStocks is rooted in a simple belief: tokenized equities should be open, permissionless and interoperable across ecosystems – giving users the freedom to access markets on the platforms and applications they trust most.

In the weeks ahead, we’ll continue working with Backed and leading crypto communities to expand access to xStocks, bringing the future of tokenized equities to more users, builders, and markets across the world.