TL;DR
- Kraken and Backed are expanding their xStocks project to BNB Chain, enabling trading of tokenized stocks as BEP-20 tokens.
- The integration includes tokens like AAPL, TSLA, SPY, and NVDA, driven by growing global demand for unrestricted, multichain onchain financial markets.
- BNB Chain was chosen for its low fees, high processing capacity, and an active Web3 community, with $10 billion in TVL and strong DeFi adoption.
Kraken and Backed announced the expansion of their xStocks initiative to BNB Chain, increasing the options and tools available for trading tokenized U.S. stocks on blockchain. This expansion will allow non-U.S. users to deposit and withdraw these assets, issued as BEP-20 tokens, through both BNB Chain and Solana.
The integration includes assets like AAPLx, TSLAx, SPYx, and NVDAx — tokenized versions of stocks and ETFs that already trade in traditional markets. According to Kraken, this move responds to growing global demand for onchain financial instruments with greater accessibility, openness, and multichain operability.
Why BNB Chain?
BNB Chain was selected for its transaction throughput, low fees, and highly active community, with around $10 billion in TVL and one of the largest user bases in Web3.
Backed explained that xStocks was created as a neutral, public-good asset class, aiming to become the standard for tokenized equities. Integrated into DeFi, these digital representations could surpass stablecoins in both volume and utility by enabling direct interaction with loans, derivatives, and other financial products within blockchain environments.
Kraken and Tokenization: The Future of Financial Infrastructure
For Kraken, tokenized assets represent a structural upgrade for financial settlement systems. These tokens can move globally in real time with atomic settlement, without intermediaries or jurisdictional restrictions. The company seeks to build an open, 24/7 stock market, operating seamlessly across multiple chains with deep liquidity.
In June, Kraken launched over 60 xStocks on Solana, available to clients in 185 countries. The BNB Chain integration marks the next step in that strategy. Other platforms like Bybit, Gate, and Bitget have also added support for these assets. Robinhood recently launched tokenized stock trading in Europe on Arbitrum, while Coinbase is pursuing SEC approval to offer these products in the U.S.
Although xStocks’ public onchain volume stands at just $32.8 million, total trading activity — including volume on centralized exchanges — is considerably higher.
