Major crypto exchange Kraken is diving headfirst into traditional finance, launching tokenized U.S. stocks on the Solana blockchain. Through a strategic partnership with Backed and the Solana Foundation, the exchange is rolling out “xStocks” – tokenized versions of U.S. equities and ETFs. There’s just one catch: Americans can’t touch them.
The new offering lets international investors trade U.S. stocks 24/7 on Solana’s high-speed network. No more waiting for Wall Street’s opening bell. No more traditional brokerage accounts. Just pure, blockchain-based trading – as long as you’re not sipping coffee in Kansas City. The platform will list more than 50 stocks, including popular names like Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia.
Kraken’s move comes with some serious tech muscle. They’re using Solana’s SPL token standard, known for its blazing speed and low transaction costs. Unlike traditional centralized exchanges, this new platform reduces the risk of hacks by eliminating single points of failure. Backed Finance will handle the heavy lifting, creating and managing these tokenized assets while holding onto the actual shares. And yes, investors can redeem their tokens for cash whenever they want. The platform targets eligible non-U.S. markets with its initial deployment.
Powered by Solana’s lightning-fast SPL tokens, Kraken’s new stock offering combines traditional shares with blockchain efficiency and instant redemption.
The timing is interesting. Just weeks after launching commission-free stock trading for U.S. clients, Kraken’s telling those same Americans they can’t play with these shiny new blockchain toys. Talk about a plot twist.
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi calls this expansion a “natural step” for Kraken. It’s part of their grand vision to merge crypto, stocks, and traditional finance into one seamless platform. And they’re not wrong – the ability to trade Tesla shares at 3 AM on a blockchain does sound pretty revolutionary.
But there’s an elephant in the room: regulation. Kraken’s carefully tiptoeing around U.S. securities laws, probably remembering how Binance’s similar attempt in 2021 crashed and burned. They’re “actively working with various regulators,” which in crypto-speak usually means “please don’t sue us.”
For international investors, though, this is big news. It’s democratizing access to U.S. markets in a way that wasn’t possible before.
And for Kraken? It’s another step toward becoming a one-stop shop for all things finance – at least for those outside American borders.
