Kraken Expands Tokenized Equities to BNB Chain for 24/7 Trading

Kraken and Backed Finance have expanded their tokenized equities offering to the BNB Chain, enabling 24/7 trading of stocks such as Apple and Nvidia. This development follows the recent launch of xStocks on Solana DeFi protocols, marking a significant step in the tokenization of traditional financial instruments.

The introduction of tokenized equities on the BNB Chain allows for the issuance of BEP-20 tokens representing U.S. stocks like Apple, Tesla, and the S&P 500 ETF. These tokens are now accessible to users across the BNB Chain’s ecosystem, joining the xStocks Alliance. This alliance includes exchanges and DeFi protocols that offer trading with 60 equity and ETF tokens on crypto rails.

Kraken plans to enable users to deposit and withdraw xStocks tokens through the BNB Chain in the coming weeks. The goal is to integrate these equity tokens more deeply into DeFi, making them available for movement across protocols and chains or for use as collateral for borrowing. Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, emphasized the potential for these instruments to behave as programmable settlement primitives, unlocking features such as atomic settlement, real-time global transferability, and composability with on-chain lending, derivatives, and structured products.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, highlighted the transformative potential of this development, stating that it marks the beginning of an always-on equity market that is permissionless, transparent, and built for the internet. This move is part of a broader trend where trading platforms are racing to bring equities onto blockchain rails, as the tokenization of traditional financial instruments gains momentum.

Backed's xStocks debuted last week on Kraken, Bybit, and Solana-based DeFi platforms, while other major players like Gemini and Robinhood have also introduced trading with tokenized U.S. stocks. Additionally, crypto exchange Bitget has joined the alliance and introduced xStocks tokens on its trading platform, further expanding the reach of tokenized equities.

This expansion to the BNB Chain underscores the growing momentum in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization space. As more platforms adopt tokenized equities, the potential for a more integrated and efficient financial ecosystem becomes increasingly apparent. The ability to trade stocks 24/7 and integrate them with DeFi protocols represents a significant advancement in financial innovation, offering new opportunities for investors and traders alike.