Kraken parent Payward tokenizes 200-plus UK and EU stocks as xStocks, but UK investors can't buy them

Published Wed, 11 Nov 2026 10:54:02 UTC · Updated Wed, 11 Nov 2026 20:50:00 UTC · Edited by Bizzle · AI-assisted

⚪NeutralA big expansion for tokenized stocks, but it is a product launch for Kraken's parent rather than a direct driver for any crypto asset.News sentiment, not financial advice. It reflects the likely impact of this news, not a price prediction.

Summary

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, said Wednesday it has added tokenized versions of more than 200 UK- and EU-listed stocks to its xStocks platform, according to Decrypt, Cointelegraph and The Block.

The tokens are backed one-to-one by shares held with a regulated custodian and trade on Kraken and other xStocks Alliance platforms, though they remain unavailable to investors in the UK, Decrypt and Cointelegraph reported.

Payward said the expansion takes xStocks past 1,500 tokenized stocks, ETFs and other assets, and that hundreds of Hong Kong-listed equities will follow in the coming weeks.

Cointelegraph noted that Kraken's risk disclosure says xStocks give holders price exposure without voting rights or legal claims to the underlying shares.

Key facts

Cointelegraph: the batch includes all 40 companies in Germany's DAX index, such as SAP, Siemens, Allianz and Deutsche Telekom; Decrypt cited HSBC, Shell, LVMH and Airbus among the names. (Cointelegraph)
Decrypt: the tokens are offered in more than 110 markets and on chains where xStocks already trade, including Solana, Ethereum and TON. (Decrypt)
Payward, per Decrypt and Cointelegraph: xStocks has processed more than $45 billion in cumulative volume and has over 550,000 holders; Decrypt said it holds more than $1.1 billion in assets. (Decrypt)
Cointelegraph, citing Token Terminal: xStocks' $1.1 billion market cap ranks third among tokenized stocks, behind Binance bStocks ($1.5 billion) and Ondo Finance ($1.4 billion). (Cointelegraph)
Decrypt: the launch is the first under Payward's partnership with brokerage infrastructure firm GTN, and the London Stock Exchange intends to list xStocks on its planned LSE 24 venue in 2027, subject to regulatory approval. (Decrypt)
Payward CCO Mark Greenberg, quoted by Decrypt: "A portfolio should not have borders or trading hours." (Decrypt)
CoinDesk: Payward says xStocks holds over $1.1 billion, and each token is backed by a share but gives no ownership of the underlying company. (CoinDesk)