Kraken and Backed Expand Tokenized Stocks to BNB Chain as RWA Momentum Accelerates
Kraken and Backed Finance are bringing tokenized equities to the BNB Chain, enabling 24/7 trading of stocks like Apple and Nvidia. This initiative introduces BEP-20 tokens representing U.S. stocks such as Apple (AAPLx), Tesla (TSLAx), and the S&P 500 ETF (SPYx), expanding access within the BNB Chain ecosystem. This development follows BNB Chain’s entry into the xStocks Alliance, a network facilitating trading of 60 equity and ETF tokens on crypto platforms.
Kraken will support deposits and withdrawals of xStocks tokens via the BNB Chain in the coming weeks. The integration aims to enhance the role of equity tokens in DeFi, enabling cross-protocol and cross-chain movement and facilitating their use as collateral for borrowing. Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, highlights this as the dawn of a continuously accessible, permissionless, transparent equity market designed for the internet. Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken, emphasizes the programmable settlement capabilities of these instruments, unlocking atomic settlement, real-time global transferability, and composability with on-chain lending, derivatives, and structured products.
The move reflects a broader trend among trading platforms to integrate equities onto blockchain infrastructure as the tokenization of traditional financial instruments, or real-world assets (RWAs), gains traction. Backed’s xStocks recently launched on Kraken, Bybit, and Solana-based DeFi platforms. Other exchanges are also joining this movement; Gemini and Robinhood have already introduced tokenized U.S. stock trading, and Bitget joined the xStocks Alliance and launched xStocks tokens on its platform concurrently. This collaborative effort signifies a significant step towards a more integrated and efficient financial landscape, merging traditional finance with the decentralized nature of blockchain technology. The accessibility and efficiency offered by tokenized equities on platforms like BNB Chain promise to reshape how investors interact with and trade stocks.
