Kraken adds commission-free trading of 7,000+ U.S. stocks and xStocks for EEA users, rivaling Coinbase and Binance in the tokenized equity space.
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Kraken began offering commission-free trading of more than 7,000 U.S.-listed equities to users in the European Economic Area on August 18. The service runs through Kraken Pro and the main Kraken app. It includes traditional shares and xStocks, blockchain-based tokens backed by real underlying equities. Kraken said it is the first crypto exchange to offer both standard equities and their tokenized versions in one regulated environment.
Mark Greenberg, chief commercial officer at Kraken's parent company Payward, said the move “eliminates the artificial divide between traditional and tokenized formats of the same asset.” Standard shares trade during market hours and follow normal settlement. xStocks transfer to personal custody wallets and can trade outside regular hours.
Kraken plans to tokenize portions of upcoming initial public offerings. Users can submit early expressions of interest. Tokenization happens after trading begins.
The stock trading is run by Payward Europe Digital Solutions, a Cyprus-based investment firm licensed under MiFID. That structure keeps securities separate from Kraken's crypto operations under Europe's MiCA rules.
Kraken faces competition from several exchanges. Coinbase has U.K. regulatory clearance to offer equities and derivatives alongside crypto. It already gives U.S. users access to over 8,000 stocks and ETFs through a separate brokerage. Coinbase is also developing tokenized U.S. equities for international customers, with automated dividends and blockchain settlement. Binance offers more than 7,000 U.S. stocks and ETFs for qualified international users and is building its own tokenized equity product, bStocks. Crypto.com and Robinhood have tokenized stock products in Europe. Bitpanda provides standard U.S. equities without tokenized versions.
Keith Grose, Coinbase's U.K. CEO, said customers prefer consolidating their financial activities across fewer platforms. That preference is driving the expansion.
The tokenized securities market was worth roughly $1.4 billion in May, according to earlier reports. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is exploring potential frameworks for blockchain-based equity trading as the sector grows. Tokenized equities hit $1.48 billion in May, driven partly by exchanges like Bybit adding tokenized stocks from major companies.
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