Kraken Taps Solana Blockchain To Roll Out Tokenized American Stocks and ETFs for Non-US Traders

The San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken is bringing tokenized versions of popular US-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETF) to its clients in select non-US markets.

In a statement, Kraken says it partnered with the tokenized stocks and ETF issuer Backed to launch xStocks on the Solana (SOL) blockchain.

xStocks, a tokenized equities brand developed by Backed, taps blockchain technology to offer tokenized versions of US-listed equities.

Says Kraken Global Head of Consumer Mark Greenberg,

“Access to traditional US equities remains slow, costly and restricted. With xStocks, we’re using blockchain technology to deliver something better – open, instant, accessible and borderless exposure to some of America’s most iconic companies. This is what the future of investing looks like.”    

Kraken says xStocks assets will be issued as SPL tokens, the standard token format on the Solana blockchain, and will be available to eligible clients through its app.

“These xStocks assets can be traded both on our platform as well as onchain through compatible wallet providers, allowing users to leverage their xStocks as collateral in ways that simply is not possible through TradFi.”

Kraken says Solana is selected as the launch chain for xStocks because of the blockchain’s performance, low latency and thriving global ecosystem.

The exchange says that it plans to expand the range of tokenized assets and the jurisdictions where xStocks is supported.

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