Kraken Agrees to Acquire Backed, the Issuer Behind xStocks Tokenized Equities

Kraken announced on December 2, 2025 that it had agreed to acquire Backed Finance AG, the company that issues xStocks tokenized equities.

What xStocks are

xStocks are tokens that track US stocks and ETFs, backed one to one by the underlying shares. At the time of the announcement there were more than 60 of them. They were live on Solana and Ethereum, with TON, Tron, Mantle and BNB Chain integrations planned.

Kraken said xStocks had passed $10 billion in combined exchange and on-chain trading volume within six months of launching earlier in 2025. On Kraken they traded 24 hours a day, five days a week, while on-chain trading ran around the clock. Users can hold xStocks in their own wallets.

Why Kraken is buying Backed

Kraken said bringing Backed in-house would put issuance, trading and settlement under one company and give Backed the capital to grow faster. The company plans to take xStocks to new markets and use the same setup for tokenized assets beyond equities. It also intends to expand the xStocks Alliance, a group of blockchain foundations, trading venues and apps that support the tokens.

Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the deal is "about redefining what it means to own assets in the digital era."

What came next

Over the following months Kraken extended xStocks trading to 24/7 on Kraken Pro, launched xStocks margin trading and perpetual futures, and other exchanges, including OKX, began offering tokenized stocks built on the xStocks framework.