Kraken Moves Deeper Into Tokenized Equities With Backed Finance Acquisition

Kraken is making a major push into the tokenization market with its agreement to acquire Backed Finance, the company behind the xStocks product line.

This move gives Kraken full control over a growing category of tokenized equities and positions the exchange for rapid expansion as it prepares for a public listing.

 

A Strategic Acquisition With Clear Intent

Backed Finance specializes in issuing tokens tied to real world assets, mainly public company stocks and ETFs. These assets are backed by real shares held in custody, allowing users to hold digital representations of traditional securities inside a blockchain environment.

By bringing Backed Finance in house, Kraken gains control over the entire tokenization stack. Issuance, collateral, custody, compliance, and product architecture will all operate under one roof. This eliminates reliance on an external provider and strengthens Kraken’s ability to innovate and scale. The exchange has been building aggressively in Europe and other global markets, and the acquisition aligns with its larger ambition to make tokenized securities a core part of its ecosystem.

 

Why Kraken Is Doubling Down on Tokenization

Tokenized assets have gained momentum as traders and institutions look for a more flexible way to access traditional financial instruments. The benefit is simple. Stocks can be traded on chain, around the clock, with global reach and fewer barriers.

Kraken’s recent capital raise brought its valuation to roughly twenty billion dollars. The company has been preparing for a public offering targeted for 2026, and expanding into real world asset tokenization helps diversify its revenue streams before going public. Backed Finance already holds meaningful market share in the tokenized equity space, which gives Kraken a strong foundation to build on.

The acquisition formalizes a partnership Kraken has spent the past year expanding. Backed has powered xStocks since launch, supporting products that have now generated more than $5 billion in cumulative trading volume on Kraken. 

 

The Broader Market Context

Interest in real world asset tokenization has surged through 2025, but the sector still faces challenges. Liquidity varies widely across tokenized securities. Some assets trade actively, while others see thin volume. This raises questions about whether tokenization alone can deliver deeper markets.

Regulatory frameworks are also evolving. Tokenized shares do not always offer the same rights as traditional equities, such as voting or regular dividend distribution. As more platforms introduce tokenized stocks, market fragmentation becomes a risk, since liquidity can spread across multiple chains and issuers.

These challenges do not diminish the potential, but they highlight the need for stronger standards, clearer rules, and well capitalized issuers.

 

What This Means for the Future

Kraken’s acquisition signals that tokenized equities are becoming a long term strategic priority rather than a side experiment. If successful, Kraken could set the standard for a hybrid financial model where traditional assets move seamlessly across blockchain infrastructure.

BlackRock executives Larry Fink and Rob Goldstein recently said tokenization could reshape financial markets as profoundly as the early internet reshaped information.

Kraken's users may gain access to more global equities, greater flexibility, fractional ownership, and always available markets. Institutions may find a more programmable way to issue and settle securities. The industry may see a blueprint for bridging regulated markets with decentralized technology.

 

The path will not be simple. Liquidity, compliance, and investor protections will remain central areas of focus. However, Kraken’s move shows that major players believe the future of equities includes both traditional exchanges and blockchain based markets working together.

 

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Bybit Expands Into Real-World Assets with Backed Finance Partnership for Tokenized

 

A new wave of tokenized equity products is reshaping how investors access global markets, and xStocks is leading the charge. Created by Backed Finance in partnership with Bybit and Mantle, xStocks allows tokenized versions of major U.S. company shares such as Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and MicroStrategy (MSTR) to be traded on-chain in a regulated, transparent, and globally accessible format.

Each xStock token is backed one-to-one by the underlying equity, which is held in custody by regulated third-party custodians. This approach ensures full backing while enabling the shares to move seamlessly within decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystems.

 

How xStocks Works

For every xStock minted, a real-world share of the corresponding company is held by the issuer in custody. These tokens can then be traded 24/7 on platforms such as Bybit and used within DeFi protocols for lending, borrowing, or liquidity provision.

Bybit supports deposits and withdrawals of xStocks through the Mantle Network, which acts as the blockchain infrastructure layer connecting centralized and decentralized platforms. Mantle’s low fees and high performance make it an ideal environment for on-chain trading of real-world assets.

This structure allows investors to gain global exposure to leading U.S. equities without the limitations of traditional brokerage systems or market hours. Tokenized stocks can also be composed into smart contracts, collateral systems, and decentralized trading strategies, creating new opportunities for both traders and developers.

 

Why Tokenized Stocks Matter

The launch of xStocks marks a major step toward convergence between traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance. By tokenizing shares of publicly traded companies and making them available on-chain, the project introduces a host of benefits:

• Global access: Investors from almost any region can gain exposure to U.S. stocks without relying on traditional brokerages.

• Composability: Tokenized stocks can integrate with DeFi platforms, enabling creative use cases such as yield farming or collateralized lending.

• Continuous trading: Unlike traditional markets, xStocks can trade around the clock, while still tracking underlying asset prices through custodial backing and oracle feeds.

• Fractional ownership: Smaller investors can gain access to high-value stocks through fractionalized token units.

This level of accessibility and flexibility represents a meaningful expansion of the global financial system into blockchain-based environments.

 

Key Partnerships Driving xStocks

• Backed Finance serves as the issuer and compliance manager for xStocks, ensuring that each token is fully backed by a corresponding equity share and held under regulated custody.

• Bybit, one of the world’s top crypto exchanges, provides the liquidity, infrastructure, and user base to make tokenized stock trading seamless.

• Mantle Network delivers the blockchain infrastructure that underpins the system, offering a modular Layer 2 framework with high throughput and low transaction costs.

Together, these partners form a complete pipeline for bringing traditional assets onto the blockchain. Shares are securely held, tokenized, and then made accessible through regulated on-chain channels.

 

Use Cases and Early Listings

The initial lineup for xStocks includes a mix of technology and finance leaders such as Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, Coinbase, and MicroStrategy. Each stock is represented by a corresponding xStock token (for example, NV DAX for Nvidia and MSTRX for MicroStrategy).

Holders can store these tokens in self-custody wallets, trade them directly on Bybit, or integrate them into DeFi applications across the Mantle ecosystem. Over time, more equities and potentially ETFs may be added to expand the offering.

 

Regulatory and Market Considerations

While the concept is groundbreaking, tokenized securities carry some caveats:

• No voting or dividend rights: Token holders typically gain economic exposure but not shareholder privileges like voting or direct dividend collection.

• Jurisdictional restrictions: Residents of certain countries, including the United States, may be restricted from purchasing or holding xStocks until further licensing is obtained.

• Price variance risk: During off-market hours, token prices can deviate from the underlying asset price, creating both arbitrage opportunities and liquidity risks.

• Regulatory evolution: The treatment of tokenized stocks varies across jurisdictions, and projects like xStocks will likely face ongoing regulatory review as adoption grows.

Even with these considerations, the model represents a significant advancement toward a future where on-chain representations of real-world assets can coexist with traditional financial infrastructure.

 

A New Era for Real-World Assets

Tokenization of assets like equities, bonds, and commodities has long been viewed as the next frontier for blockchain adoption. Projects such as xStocks demonstrate that this vision is now moving from concept to implementation.

By combining regulatory compliance, on-chain transparency, and cross-border accessibility, xStocks delivers a clear example of how tokenized finance could evolve. The initiative also highlights the growing appetite for real-world assets (RWAs) among DeFi participants, who are increasingly seeking stable, yield-bearing alternatives to purely speculative tokens.

 

Final Thoughts

The xStocks launch represents more than a new trading product. It is part of a broader transformation of financial infrastructure — one that connects traditional equity markets to the programmable, borderless nature of blockchain.

Bybit, Mantle, and Backed Finance are positioning themselves at the intersection of these two worlds. If xStocks succeeds, it could pave the way for widespread tokenization of major assets, potentially redefining how investors trade, store, and leverage real-world value in the digital age.

 

As more institutions explore on-chain settlement, custodial bridges, and tokenized asset offerings, xStocks may be remembered as one of the early milestones that made Wall Street truly interoperable with Web3.

 

Stay Connected

You can stay up to date on all News, Events, and Marketing of Rare Network, including Rare Evo: America’s Premier Blockchain Conference, happening  July 28th-31st, 2026 at The ARIA Resort & Casino, by following our socials on X, LinkedIn, and YouTube.