Kraken Brings xStocks to Europe: Tokenized US Markets On-Chain

The crypto exchange Kraken is now expanding its innovative xStocks offering to customers in the European Union. This gives millions of investors direct on-chain access to tokenized representations of popular US stocks and ETFs for the first time – all conveniently tradable via the Kraken app.

Why xStocks is relevant for Europe

For European private investors, access to US markets has so far been fraught with significant hurdles. Traditional brokers often charge high fees, currency conversions add costs, and cross-border settlements result in delays. Restricted trading hours also make flexible market access difficult.

With xStocks, Kraken solves many of these problems:

Trading tokenized certificates that track US stocks

No dependence on traditional intermediaries

Fast and cost-effective transactions directly on-chain

24/5 trading via the Kraken platform

Ability to freely move assets between platforms or use them in DeFi protocols

This will provide investors in the EU with significantly more efficient and borderless access to the US markets.

Technological basis: Solana and BNB Chain

Initially, xStocks were implemented as SPL tokens on the Solana blockchain. Solana offers high speed and low transaction costs—a decisive advantage for everyday trading. In a next step, Kraken will also support xStocks as a BEP-20 token on the BNB chain. This gives users the choice between two of the leading blockchain ecosystems.

In the long term, Kraken plans to expand xStocks to other blockchains with dynamic Web 3 ecosystems. The goal is to provide investors with the greatest possible flexibility and interoperability.

A step towards democratizing the financial markets

Kraken sees xStocks not just as a technological innovation, but as a fundamental shift in the global capital market. Instead of fragmented structures and expensive intermediaries, investors gain direct, decentralized, and permissionless access.

“Access to xStocks for investors from the European Union is a logical next step for Kraken. Until now, investing in the US markets has been unnecessarily complicated—with xStocks, we’re removing many of these hurdles,” explains Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Consumer at Kraken.

Conclusion: More sovereignty for investors

With xStocks, Kraken is sending a strong message: financial markets should be open, global, and fair. European investors now benefit from a modern on-chain investment approach that combines speed, flexibility, and independence. For Kraken, this is just the beginning—and for investors, a step toward true financial sovereignty.

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(Featured image by GuerillaBuzz via Unsplash)

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