Kraken opening digital tokens of Apple, Tesla and Nvidia to people outside the U.S.
- Kraken’s new product, xStocks, will launch on the Solana blockchain and offer more than 50 tokenized stocks and ETFs.
- Trading will be available 24/7 to users outside the U.S., mirroring the nonstop nature of crypto markets, Backed said in a release.
- Kraken, once targeted by the SEC, is now capitalizing on friendlier conditions under Trump-era crypto policy rollbacks.
Kraken, a crypto exchange that has spent years in court battling charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over its digital asset offerings, is preparing to offer tokenized securities, including shares of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, to customers outside the U.S, according to a release Thursday.
The exchange is partnering with Backed—a firm specializing in blockchain-based financial assets — to offer more than 50 U.S. stocks and ETFs as tokens on the Solana blockchain, the release said.
The product, called xStocks, will be available only to users outside the United States and will trade 24/7, much like bitcoin, allowing around-the-clock access to traditional equities in a crypto-native format, the release said.
Kraken did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kaken already has a traditional stock trading platform for its US customers that offers more than 11,000 stocks and ETFs via the conventional brokerage model.
The exchange, which launched in the U.S. before Coinbase, remains a private company.
The SEC under President Donald Trump has rolled back virtually all crypto-related lawsuits, including the charges of wrongdoing it brought against Kraken.
Binance made a short-lived attempt at tokenizing equities in 2021 before pulling the plug after regulators pushed back.
But with U.S. lawmakers and the Trump administration now warming to crypto infrastructure — and firms like Robinhood and BlackRock openly exploring asset tokenization — Kraken is taking its shot.
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