Kraken Expands xStocks to BNB Chain for Global Equity Access

Kraken, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a significant partnership with Backed and BNB Chain to expand its xStocks platform, which offers tokenized versions of U.S. equities, to the BNB Chain ecosystem. This collaboration aims to enhance global access to tokenized U.S. equities, further broadening the reach of the xStocks Alliance.

Through this partnership, BNB Chain joins the rapidly growing xStocks Alliance, which seeks to democratize investing by enabling 24/7 exposure to U.S. markets. In the coming weeks, eligible clients will be able to deposit and withdraw xStocks from Kraken's platform via the BNB Chain. Backed will deploy xStocks as BEP-20 tokens on BNB Chain, providing users with seamless access to tokenized representations of U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, including assets like AAPLx, TSLAx, SPYx, and NVDAx.

BNB Chain was selected for this alliance due to its high performance, low transaction fees, and its position as one of the largest blockchain ecosystems by on-chain activity. With a significant total value locked (TVL) and an active Web3 user community, BNB Chain offers a robust foundation for growing tokenized asset adoption.

Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO, emphasized the significance of this partnership, stating that the future of capital markets will be chain-neutral, composable, and multichain by design. He highlighted that tokenized equities are not just digital wrappers for traditional assets but a foundational upgrade to the financial system, enabling programmable settlement primitives that unlock atomic settlement, real-time global transferability, and composability with onchain lending, derivatives, and structured products.

Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, echoed this sentiment, noting that xStocks are built as a neutral, public-good asset class. The expansion to BNB Chain is a key step toward making xStocks the standard for tokenized equities, aiming to bring traditional finance onto blockchain rails and enable true composability. Integrated into DeFi, tokenized equities have the potential to surpass the scale and utility of stablecoins.

Sarah S, Head of Business Development at BNB Chain, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating that tokenizing real-world assets on BNB Chain is a meaningful step in making global finance more accessible and transparent. This partnership reflects BNB Chain’s commitment to bringing high-quality financial instruments on-chain and connecting traditional markets with decentralized finance for users around the world.

The addition of BNB Chain to the xStocks Alliance marks another significant milestone, expanding the alliance to one of the world’s largest and most active blockchain ecosystems. This strategic partnership signals the next phase in mainstreaming tokenized equities, cementing xStocks’ leading role in the rapidly evolving digital asset landscape.

Kraken has recently introduced more than 60 tokenized U.S. stocks on its Backed on Solana platform in the last few months. They are already accessible in 185 countries. The inclusion of BNB Chain will now increase the number of individuals in the xStocks Alliance.