Kraken is doubling down on tokenized equities. The exchange has completed its acquisition of Backed Finance AG, the Swiss firm behind the xStocks platform, bringing tokenized stock issuance fully in-house. The move adds another deal to Kraken’s busy 2025 acquisition run and strengthens its push into real-world assets.
With the acquisition, Kraken now owns the entire xStocks infrastructure, which issues tokenized versions of publicly traded stocks and ETFs. According to the announcement, this gives the exchange tighter control over issuance, trading, and settlement across its ecosystem, including its global money app.
Kraken plans to expand xStocks to additional blockchains and markets. The platform currently runs on Solana and Ethereum and supports more than 60 tokenized products with 24/7 trading. Since its launch earlier this year, xStocks has processed over $10 billion in combined exchange and on-chain volume.
One key advantage is flexibility. The tokenized assets can be self-custodied and transferred across networks, offering users exposure to equities without being locked into a single platform. Kraken first introduced xStocks to eligible European users in September, effectively testing demand before moving ahead with a full acquisition.
The exchange also operates the xStocks Alliance, a network that connects partner blockchains and trading venues. By bringing Backed Finance under its control, Kraken aims to consolidate this network and improve interoperability as tokenized equities gain traction. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This acquisition fits into a broader expansion strategy. Kraken filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO in November and has been actively buying assets this year. It acquired NinjaTrader in May, proprietary trading platform Breakout in September, and the designated contract market Small Exchange in October.
Tokenized equities have emerged as one of the most significant crypto trends of 2025. In June, xStocks launched across Bybit, Kraken, and multiple Solana-based DeFi platforms with tokenized shares of companies like Netflix, Meta, Coinbase, Amazon, Nvidia, Apple, Tesla, and Microsoft.
That same month, Robinhood launched an Arbitrum-based layer-2 and rolled out tokenized stock trading for EU users. The platform now offers more than 200 U.S. stock and ETF tokens, trading 24 hours a day on weekdays with zero commission.
Data from Dune Analytics shows Robinhood currently hosts 943 tokenized stocks and ETFs on Arbitrum, with about $10.8 million in on-chain value. According to RWA.xyz, regulated tokenized public equities now total roughly $656 million, with $1.14 billion in monthly transfer volume and around 118,000 holders.
Among regulated issuers, Ondo leads with 52% market share, followed by Backed Finance at 24% and Securitize at 20%.
The takeaway is clear. Kraken is positioning itself to be a full-stack provider for tokenized equities, controlling issuance, distribution, and settlement as traditional finance continues its slow but steady move on-chain.
