Kraken, Backed, and BNB chain Team Up for Tokenized Stocks
On July 9, Kraken, a leading crypto exchange, announced a partnership with Backed and BNB Chain. This collaboration aims too expand Kraken’s xStocks offering to a broader audience.
With this move, Kraken clients outside the U.S. can soon deposit and withdraw tokenized U.S.equities like Apple’s AAPLx and Tesla’s TSLAx as BEP-20 tokens on BNB Chain. This follows xStocks’ launch on Solana last month.
Why BNB Chain? It offers scale and efficiency. With $10 billion in total value locked and a large user base, BNB Chain provides the liquidity and accessibility needed for tokenized equities to thrive.
Backed’s xStocks will now circulate as BEP-20 tokens. This enables seamless transfers between kraken’s platform and BNB Chain’s decentralized ecosystem. Traders benefit from lower fees, faster settlements, and DeFi compatibility.
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi sees this as more than just broader distribution. It’s about composability. “Tokenized equities are a foundational upgrade to the financial system,” he said.
BNB Chain’s presence in emerging markets like Southeast Asia and latin America coudl also open doors for retail investors with limited access to U.S. equities.
Sarah Song,BNB Chain’s Head of Business Advancement,noted: “Tokenizing real-world assets on BNB Chain makes global finance more accessible and clear.”
However, adoption is still uncertain. On-chain data shows just $32.8 million in xStocks trading volume so far. But Kraken’s internal exchange volume could boost this number.
Backed co-founder Adam Levi envisions xStocks becoming “the standard for tokenized equities” by integrating with lending protocols and derivatives platforms.
