xStocks, the tokenized equities framework built by Kraken's parent company Payward, deployed its first batch of tokens for UK and European listed shares on Nov. 11. The first wave covers more than 200 of the most actively traded companies in the UK and the European Union, and takes the framework past 1,500 tokenized assets. Until now it had mostly offered US stocks and ETFs.
What is live and how it works
The xStocks account on X said LVMH, Rolls-Royce, HSBC, Airbus and SAP are among the names now available onchain. Each token is backed 1:1 by the underlying share. Payward says every token issued is matched by a purchase of the real share, held at a regulated custodian for as long as the token trades.
xStocks started by tokenizing US capital markets.
— xStocks (@xStocksFi) November 11, 2026
Today, we’re tokenizing 200+ equities listed in the UK and EU through our partnership with @GTNGlobal.
LVMH, Rolls-Royce, HSBC, Airbus, SAP and more are all now available onchain. pic.twitter.com/lsd4zXt3y0
The tokens trade on Kraken and on supporting xStocks Alliance platforms. They are also embedded in decentralized finance (DeFi) apps on Solana, Ethereum, TON, Ink, X Layer and other chains. Payward says more listings will be tokenized on a rolling basis, and that hundreds of Hong Kong-listed equities will follow in the coming weeks.
xStocks launched in June 2025 with tokenized US stocks and ETFs. A tokenized share is a blockchain token that tracks a stock's price. Holders usually do not get the voting rights that come with owning the share directly. Kraken's own materials note this limit, so buyers should read the terms before trading.
The GTN partnership
The expansion is the first delivered under Payward's partnership with GTN, a fintech infrastructure firm that handles global execution and custody of the traditional assets behind each token. Payward says that structure let it tokenize hundreds of new assets in a matter of weeks.
"Access to capital markets is still drawn on a map, and it still depends on holding the right passport," said Mark Greenberg, Payward's chief commercial officer.
He added:
"Tokenizing every other international market is the next step."
Ankit Shah, GTN's global head of fintech, said the partnership shows "how traditional and digital financial ecosystems can work together to deliver that future at scale." GTN says it operates through six regulated entities, including ones authorized by the FCA in the UK, the SEC and FINRA in the US and the SFC in Hong Kong.
Scale and a London Stock Exchange link
Payward says xStocks holds over $1.1 billion in assets under management, has processed more than $45 billion in total transaction volume and counts more than 550,000 unique holders. It is available in more than 110 markets.
Today's move follows a recent partnership between Payward and the London Stock Exchange on tokenization. It delivers on plans to tokenize the top 100 London-listed equities as xStocks. In 2027, subject to regulatory approval, the exchange intends to list xStocks and begin trading them on LSE 24.
Tokenized equities are drawing mixed reactions from the companies behind the shares. On the OKXICE venue, every Magnificent Seven stock opted out of tokenization, and 67 companies in total objected. SpaceX also objected, even though tokenized versions of its shares already trade offshore. xStocks works differently, because it backs tokens with shares bought on the market and does not rely on an issuer consenting.
Who cannot buy them
Distribution and eligibility are unchanged. The company states that xStocks "continue to be unavailable to investors in the United Kingdom." That means UK shares are now tokenized for a global audience that excludes UK residents. US investors are also excluded under current rules.
The UK and the EU regulate public offers of securities and crypto-asset services separately. Even if a token mirrors a listed share, selling it to retail customers can trigger local licensing rules. That helps explain why a product built on London and Frankfurt stocks is still off limits in London.
For investors in eligible countries, the practical gain is access to markets that were hard to reach before. Payward says appetite from onchain buyers feeds back into the order books of the listed companies, because each token requires a matching share purchase.
Gunel Ismayilova
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