Kraken parent Payward partners with GTN to bring xStocks tokenized equities to Hong Kong first, then UK, Europe and South Korea. The move opens 90+ markets via GTN's infrastructure.
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Kraken parent Payward has partnered with fintech infrastructure provider GTN to expand its xStocks tokenized equity platform beyond U.S.-listed stocks and exchange-traded funds.
The companies will start with equities listed in Hong Kong before targeting the UK, Europe, South Korea and other markets. The expansion depends on local regulatory approvals and licences, according to a July 22 announcement from Payward.
GTN will provide the traditional market infrastructure for the next phase of xStocks. Its services include execution, custody, ledgering and record-keeping across more than 90 markets. Payward will continue to provide the tokenization framework that creates blockchain-based versions of the underlying assets.
Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, said traditional capital markets still separate investors by geography, currencies and trading hours.
GTN will connect xStocks with its global execution and custody network through one infrastructure layer. The arrangement gives Payward a route into international markets without building separate traditional finance systems for every country.
Ankit Shah, Global Head of FinTech at GTN, said financial firms want access to new markets without rebuilding their technology for each expansion. GTN's infrastructure can support Payward across more than 90 markets while providing the sub-accounting systems needed for tokenized products, he said.
The companies said the partnership has already started, although GTN must secure regulatory approvals before distributing xStocks to its institutional clients. Payward also said the expanded assets could become available across more than 100 exchanges, wallets and decentralized finance applications that already support the xStocks ecosystem.
The international expansion comes as tokenized equities continue attracting more trading activity. Tokenized stock transfer volume reached $8.41 billion during a recent monthly period, while distributed value climbed to about $2.16 billion. xStocks ranked among the largest platforms in the sector at the time.
Payward says xStocks now includes more than 500 tokenized assets spanning equities, ETFs and IPO-related products. The company reports more than $37 billion in total transaction volume and nearly 200,000 holders worldwide. Each xStock uses underlying securities to maintain 1:1 backing.
The platform has also added more uses for tokenized equities during 2026. Kraken began allowing eligible clients to use selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin positions, as previously reported. The change lets qualifying traders maintain exposure to tokenized stocks while using the assets to support other positions.
Payward has also moved xStocks into IPO access. Eligible Kraken users and xStocks Alliance members could register interest in U.S.-listed IPO allocations and receive tokenized shares after listing, Crypto.news reported in June.
The company expanded its control over the technology behind xStocks after agreeing to acquire Backed Finance in December 2025. Payward completed the acquisition in January 2026, according to its first-quarter financial update.
Payward's international push comes as more crypto companies and traditional market firms compete in tokenized equities. Ondo, Robinhood, Coinbase, Backpack and other platforms have expanded their own products, while exchanges and clearing firms are also testing blockchain-based securities infrastructure.
Competition now includes different models for moving public shares onchain, as Crypto.news recently reported. Some products offer tokens backed by securities held with custodians, while other projects aim to issue or record the securities themselves through regulated blockchain systems.
Regulatory questions remain part of that expansion. U.S. securities transfer groups had asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to draw clearer distinctions between issuer-backed tokenized securities and products created by third parties, a separate report said.
Payward and GTN will now focus on securing the approvals needed to expand xStocks into additional markets. Hong Kong will serve as the first planned step, followed by other major financial regions. The partnership also gives Payward infrastructure that could support tokenized assets beyond equities as the platform expands its international product range.
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