Quick take:
- Kraken also announced that tokenised stocks are now available on its platform.
- Last week, Dinari secured U.S. regulation to offer tokenised securities, while Gemini launched tokenised securities for EU traders.
- Coinbase’s legal chief, Paul Grewal, earlier this month said the crypto exchange company was seeking approval from the SEC to offer tokenised stocks trading services.
The total market cap of the cryptocurrency industry hovers just under $3.5 trillion, according to CoinMarketCap, with Bitcoin accounting for a majority of that value with $2.12 trillion. However, the value of assets traded on-chain still trails traditional markets by a distance, with the global stock market value estimated at $51 trillion in 2025, according to Statista.
This could be about to change given the current direction of the market as several crypto companies push to bring traditional stock markets to the blockchain.
Backed Finance has become the latest crypto company to join the race after launching tokenised stocks on multiple crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols.
On Monday, the real-world asset tokenisation platform launched tokenised stocks on Kraken, Bybit and Solana-based DeFi protocols Kamino Swap, Raydium and Jupiter. Tokenised stocks involve converting company shares into digital tokens on-chain and are believed to lower transaction costs whilst broadening access.
Kraken Debuts xStocks to non-U.S. clients
The launch is part of Kraken’s previously announced xStocks trading services that allow eligible non-U.S. clients to trade over 60 stocks and ETFs, including Apple, Microsoft and the S&P 500.
“We believe access to financial opportunity should be a universal right, not a privilege determined by geography or restricted by outdated infrastructure. Crypto adoption is reshaping global finance, tearing down long-standing barriers to capital markets,” Kraken wrote in a blog post. “This marks a major milestone in our ambition to democratize investing, while leveraging the power of crypto innovation to reimagine the future of investing.”
The phased rollout began on Monday with plans to launch the products in over 140 countries around the world over the next several days.
Unlike traditional brokerage platforms, where stocks can be traded in a limited number of hours during the day, xStocks allows traders to trade U.S.-listed securities 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
“With xStocks, we’re not launching a novelty. We’re unlocking something foundational,” said Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO. “For the first time, people all over the world can own and use a share of a tokenised stock like they would use money. You can move it, hold it, spend it or borrow against it. All from your wallet, with no intermediaries, no borders and no delays.”
Adam Levi, the co-founder of Backed, echoed Kraken’s statement, saying the crypto exchange platform’s xStocks product “represents a monumental leap forward in democratising access to financial markets.”
“By bringing familiar assets onto the blockchain with unprecedented accessibility, we are not just bridging traditional finance and DeFi; we are building the foundational blocks for a truly open, efficient, and inclusive global financial system where everyone can participate in wealth creation,” Levi said.
Dinari first to secure U.S. license for tokenised stocks
Backed’s tokenised stocks rollout comes on the heels of the tokenised securities platform, Dinari’s announcement that it has secured a U.S. license to offer tokenised stocks.
The San Francisco-based company said the move allows it to offer tokenised U.S. stocks on the blockchain for the first time to investors in the U.S., Reuters reported on Thursday.
According to the report, Dinari will continue working with the Securities and Exchange Commission before debuting its offering.
“For me, the end game is how can we elevate the entire financial system, which means not just a broker-dealer that’s on chain, but an exchange that’s on chain,” said Gabriel Otte, the co-founder and CEO of Dinari.
In May, Dinary raised $12.7 million in a Series A round co-led by Hack VC and Blockchange Ventures, with participation from VanEck Ventures, F-Prime and the Avalanche Fund.
Gemini launches tokenised stocks for EU Traders
The Winklevoss brothers’ crypto exchange platform isn’t just seeking to list on the U.S., but also to offer tokenised U.S. securities.
And on Friday, it said in a blog post that it launched tokenised stocks, with the first stock on the platform being Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy. The product was initially made available to Gemini users in Europe, allowing them to trade the MSTR stock and take it anywhere on-chain.
“This means that anyone in the world with a smartphone and an internet connection can gain access to tokenised U.S. equities like MSTR on the blockchain. This is the future of finance and the future has arrived,” Gemini wrote.
The announcement comes on the heels of the news that the company had confidentially filed with the SEC to go public via an IPO.
Like Kraken’s partnership with Backed Finance, Gemini chose Dinari as its tokenisation partner.
Coinbase is waiting for the SEC green light on tokenised stocks
Coinbase, the U.S.’s biggest crypto exchange, isn’t getting left behind, with the company reportedly awaiting SEC approval for trading services for tokenised stocks.
Paul Grewal, Coinbase’s legal chief, told Reuters in an interview that it was a “huge opportunity” for the company to secure SEC approval.
Grewal later emphasised that it was not just his own statement but the company’s standing since publishing a blueprint for regulating digital assets this spring.
“We’ve been saying since earlier this year that the SEC should enable markets to unlock tokenised securities,” he wrote.
Stay on top of things:
Subscribe to our newsletter using this link – we won’t spam!
