Kraken Launches 7,000 U.S. Stocks Across Europe Alongside xStocks

Crypto exchange Kraken has opened trading in more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks for eligible customers across the European Economic Area, putting traditional equities and tokenized xStocks in the same account alongside over 600 crypto assets.

The Block reported Aug. 18 that the service rolled out across the EEA after Kraken quietly introduced stock trading in Germany, the Netherlands and France in recent days.

The move takes Kraken's equities business beyond the United States, where the exchange first entered stock trading in 2025. European customers now get two ways to get exposure to U.S. companies through the same platform.

Kraken said eligible EEA users can buy conventional shares or use xStocks, blockchain-based products tied to listed equities and ETFs. Neither product requires moving money between separate platforms.

"With U.S.-listed stocks and xStocks available side-by-side in a single regulated account, customers can choose how they access the same underlying exposure – whether through traditional shares or tokenized representation – without moving capital or changing platforms," Mark Greenberg, chief commercial officer of Kraken parent Payward and head of Payward Services, said in a statement.

The offering covers more than 7,000 conventional U.S. stocks through Kraken Pro and the main Kraken mobile app. Kraken said stock trades carry no commission, subject to its terms. Eligibility is not automatic; users must accept additional terms before the equities feature appears.

Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, a Cyprus investment firm authorised under the European Union's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, or MiFID II, is providing the service.

Alongside traditional securities, customers get access to more than 700 xStocks and over 600 crypto assets. Kraken said xStocks have processed more than $38 billion in total transaction volume since launching in June 2025.

The setup differs from European platforms that offer only one form of U.S. equity exposure. Bitpanda offers traditional stock trading, while Robinhood and Crypto.com have rolled out tokenized U.S. equity products. Crypto.com's tokenized stock derivatives track about 1,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs but provide synthetic price exposure without legal ownership.

Kraken has been adding functions to xStocks since their launch. In July, the company began letting eligible users post selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin positions on Kraken Pro. Ten assets initially qualified, including tokenized versions of Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, Robinhood, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and the Invesco QQQ ETF.

Futures collateral was available to clients outside the U.S. including the EEA. Margin collateral was offered outside the U.S. but excluded EEA clients.

Kraken also built dedicated onchain infrastructure for xStocks earlier this year. Its xChange execution layer launched in March, initially supporting over 70 tokenized equities across Ethereum and Solana. At the time, xStocks had generated about $25 billion in total trading volume, including $3.5 billion onchain, with more than 80,000 onchain holders. Each token was fully collateralised and backed 1:1 by its underlying security.

Transaction volume has since climbed above $38 billion.

Payward has also been preparing to add equities from outside the United States to the xStocks system. A July partnership with GTN set out plans to start with Hong Kong-listed shares before adding securities from the UK, Europe, South Korea and other markets, subject to necessary licences. GTN provides execution, custody, ledgering and record-keeping across more than 90 financial markets. Payward supplies the tokenization infrastructure. GTN could eventually distribute xStocks to institutional customers once approvals are secured, Payward said.

The EEA rollout covers conventional U.S.-listed securities alongside xStocks. Kraken said it plans to bring the combined service into additional markets over the coming months.

Tokenized equities have grown as a share of the real-world asset market. The Block reported that tokenized equities now account for about 15% of the RWA market, roughly three times their share at the start of 2026. The segment has reached about $2.8 billion in market capitalisation, with Ondo Finance, Binance's bStocks and Kraken's xStocks holding a combined 77%.

Kraken recently extended shareholder voting rights to more than 125,000 xStocks holders, letting eligible investors instruct the underlying custodian on how votes should be cast at company meetings. The feature relies on the custody structure operated by Backed Assets (JE) Limited, according to the report.

Payward reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter, up 17% from a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA reached $23 million for the three months ended June 30. Total platform transaction volume fell 13% year over year to $310 billion during the quarter, while Payward said the mix of trading activity shifted toward equities and tokenized equities.