Kraken parent Payward to tokenize 100 London Stock Exchange stocks

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) have announced a partnership to tokenize the 100 largest companies listed on the LSE. The tokens, called xStocks, will represent 1:1-backed shares of the underlying stocks.

The first London-listed xStocks are expected to launch in the coming weeks on Kraken and other platforms supporting the xStocks Alliance. These tokens will be available to investors in over 110 countries, though they will not initially be offered to UK-based investors.

Planned trading on LSE 24

Subject to regulatory approval, the LSE intends to list and support trading of xStocks on its LSE 24 venue, which operates extended hours from Monday to Friday, 5 p.m. to 7:50 a.m., with a 30-minute pause for end-of-day processing.

The partnership also includes plans to explore native onchain equity issuance, where new shares could be issued directly as tokens with the same rights and full interchangeability as traditional shares.

Key numbers

• 100 LSE-listed companies will be tokenized as xStocks.
• xStocks will be available in over 110 countries, excluding the UK for now.
• LSE 24 trading hours: Monday–Friday, 5 p.m. to 7:50 a.m., with a 30-minute break.
• Payward’s xStocks framework has processed over $40 billion in volume, with nearly $20 billion settled onchain.
• xStocks is the second-largest tokenized equity issuer, with $606.6 million tokenized, behind Ondo’s $840.4 million.

What the LSE says

LSE CEO Julia Hoggett stated, “By working with Payward, and continuing to collaborate across the market infrastructure ecosystem, we are exploring how issuers and investors can benefit from new forms of access while maintaining the standards that underpin public markets.”

Broader tokenization plans

Payward’s tokenized equities framework, xStocks, already covers U.S., European, UK, and Hong Kong stocks, as well as other asset classes. In July, Payward partnered with GTN to expand xStocks into additional markets, including South Korea. Last month, Kraken launched U.S. stock trading for European Economic Area customers through its Cyprus-regulated entity.

The total value of tokenized equities globally is roughly $2.53 billion, according to RWA.xyz data.

What is confirmed

• Payward and LSE will tokenize 100 LSE-listed companies as xStocks.
• xStocks will be 1:1-backed by the underlying shares.
• Initial availability will exclude UK investors.
• LSE plans to support xStocks trading on LSE 24, pending regulatory approval.
• The partnership includes exploration of native onchain equity issuance.

What is still unclear

• Regulatory approval for LSE 24 trading of xStocks is not yet confirmed.
• The exact timeline for the launch of the first London-listed xStocks remains unspecified beyond “the coming weeks.”

Why this matters

Tokenization allows traditional stocks to be represented as digital tokens on a blockchain, a type of digital ledger. This can make trading and settlement faster and more accessible across borders. The LSE’s involvement signals growing institutional interest in using blockchain technology for mainstream financial assets.

Sources

• The Block