Kraken’s Tokenized Stock Trading Service Now Available in the EU
Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the expansion of its tokenized stock service xStocks to customers in the European Union.
The move will allow qualified EU investors to trade digital versions of popular US stocks such as Tesla and Amazon, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETF) via mobile application Kraken, which operates on the basis of the tokenization technology of the Swiss company Backed.
According to KrakenSince xStocks entered the international market in June, the combined trading volume on centralized and decentralized exchanges has exceeded $3,5 billion.
The tokenized share offering addresses long-standing issues for European investors looking to enter the U.S. market. Specifically, traditional cross-border investing is plagued by currency conversion fees, settlement delays due to U.S. market hours, and limited flexibility in transferring funds between platforms.
The exchange’s service operates 24/7, five days a week, which is an advantage over stock trading. Its users can also move their tokenized assets between compatible platforms or store them in self-custody wallets, which is not possible with regular brokerage accounts.
Traditional market operators have expressed concerns about tokenized shares, arguing that they lack the investor protections of traditional markets, with the World Federation of Exchanges calling for regulators to take a tougher stance on such products.
Despite regulatory uncertainty, major exchanges are pursuing strategies around tokenized assets. In September, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to launch its own tokenized securities platform, while eToro announced plans to tokenize 100 popular U.S. stocks based on Ethereum.
Read our special article to find out what tokenized assets (RWA) are and how to make money with them.
