St Helier, Jersey – 28 OCTOBER, 2026 — xStocks, the tokenized equities framework developed by Payward, has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management as of October 27, marking a significant milestone in the adoption of tokenized financial assets.
The milestone comes as xStocks expands to more than 1,500 tokenized representations of global stocks, ETFs and IPOs, spanning assets across the U.S., UK, EU and other global markets across a thriving ecosystem. AUM has more than quadrupled since February 2026, when it stood at roughly $225 million, reflecting growing demand for permissionless, interoperable financial assets that can be held, transferred and utilized across onchain ecosystems.
Growth at this pace reflects a category that has found its footing. With xStocks currently unavailable to investors in the U.S., UK and other markets, the milestone underscores the scale of international demand for tokenized assets that represent western capital markets. In markets where geographic barriers, fragmented infrastructure and limited trading hours have historically constrained participation, tokenization is creating new ways for eligible investors to engage with global equities.
By bringing fully collateralized, 1:1-backed representations of publicly traded assets onchain, xStocks provides a common infrastructure layer through which a range of platforms, consumer applications, and DeFi protocols can offer exposure to global capital markets. Its rapid growth reflects a broader shift in tokenization, from an emerging technological experiment to infrastructure increasingly supporting how financial assets are held, transferred and utilized.
“A billion dollars is a milestone on the path to something much larger. The opportunity ahead is measured in the trillions as entire capital markets move onchain and tokenization extends to every kind of asset,” said Val Gui, General Manager of xStocks. “Our ambition is to make xStocks the universal standard for bringing real-world assets onchain, then give people easy ways to reach those assets in the apps they already use. Anyone, wherever they are, should be able to hold a global range of assets from the palm of their hand.”
From Market Access to Financial Infrastructure
Since intentionally launching at a small scale in June 2025, with 60 tokenized U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs on Solana, xStocks has significantly expanded into an ecosystem spanning more than 10 blockchains, hundreds of Alliance partners, including centralized exchanges, consumer applications and DeFi protocols.
The framework’s growth is reflected across several measures of adoption:
More than $45 billion in cumulative transaction volume, demonstrating demand for tokenized assets across trading venues
More than 550,000 holders globally, reflecting a growing base of participations using tokenized equities
More than $100 million in xStocks deployed across DeFi — more than any other tokenized asset issuer — where holders can earn yield on the assets, or can post it as collateral and borrow against it.
Beyond the scale of adoption, xStocks is demonstrating how tokenization creates new global distribution channels for publicly listed companies. By making 1:1-backed representations of equities available across an interconnected network of trading platforms, consumer applications and onchain ecosystems, xStocks unlocks opportunities for companies to reach a broader international investor base. Growing demand for these tokenized assets also drives demand for the underlying shares, extending their global reach beyond the geographic and infrastructure constraints of traditional markets.
Expanding the Reach of Tokenized Markets
Alongside growing adoption, xStocks has significantly expanded the range of assets available through its framework. From an initial offering of U.S.-listed equities and ETFs, the ecosystem now encompasses more than 1,500 tokenized assets spanning U.S., UK, European and Hong Kong markets, alongside tokenized IPO exposure.
Tokenized representations of Russell 1000 constituents are now also live within the xStocks ecosystem, extending its coverage to an index representing approximately 93% of U.S. equity market capitalization. This expansion further broadens the range of established financial assets available through interoperable, blockchain-based infrastructure.
Beyond expanding asset coverage, Payward is focused on accelerating distribution through mainstream financial applications, enabling more people around the world to engage with tokenized markets through products they already use.
Payward is also continuing to establish and deepen relationships with traditional market infrastructure providers, including Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange, focused on modernizing the infrastructure underpinning global capital markets.
Together, these developments reflect xStocks’ ambition to establish a common, interoperable standard for tokenized assets as blockchain-based infrastructure becomes an increasingly important component of global financial markets.
For more information, please visit https://xstocks.fi
About xStocks
xStocks is the industry benchmark for tokenized real world assets, bringing publicly listed equities and other assets onchain through fully collateralized, 1:1-backed tokens. Powered by Payward’s digital asset infrastructure, xStocks places traditional assets on blockchain rails, expanding access to global capital markets with extended availability, global reach, and digital-native settlement. Starting with tokenized U.S. equities, xStocks now spans markets across the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Designed for interoperability, xStocks move seamlessly between centralized exchanges, self-custodied wallets, and onchain applications, unlocking new utility across trading, collateralization, and decentralized finance. Since launching in June 2025, xStocks has grown to power billions of dollars in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems, anchoring a rapidly expanding global network shaping the future of tokenized markets.
For more information, visit https://xstocks.fi
About Payward
Payward, Inc. is a unified financial infrastructure platform that powers a family of products advancing an open, global financial system. Built on a single shared architecture, Payward enables customers to hold, trade, earn, pay, and invest across asset classes without friction or fragmentation.
At its core, Payward provides the infrastructure layer behind Kraken and a growing set of purpose-built products, including NinjaTrader, Breakout, xStocks, and CF Benchmarks.
Payward separates infrastructure from product expression. Each product surface is designed for a specific customer segment, regulatory regime, and use case, while operating on the same global foundation:
One global liquidity pool
One unified risk and margin engine
One collateral and settlement system
One compliance and licensing framework
This shared architecture allows Payward to scale efficiently, launch new products at low marginal cost, and serve diverse global markets while maintaining consistent risk management, regulatory integrity, and operational resilience.
For more information about Payward, please visit www.payward.com
Media contact
Lauren Post: [email protected]
xStocks and IPO xStocks are issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited (Jersey) and offered to eligible Kraken customers globally via Payward Digital Solutions Ltd. (“PDSL”), licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority to conduct digital asset business. In the European Economic Area, xStocks are offered via Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Ltd. (“PEDSL-CY”), a Cyprus investment firm authorised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), licence number 342/17. Registered in Cyprus (HE 356603), registered office: Athalassas 62, Mezzanine, Strovolos 2012, Nicosia. The value of xStocks and IPO xStocks may go down as well as up after listing and are providing price exposure only, with no voting or dividend rights.
Neither PDSL, PEDSL-CY nor their affiliates provide investment advice or recommendations, and no communication, through any Kraken App or website or otherwise, should be construed as such, or as a solicitation. Make your own decisions or seek independent advice on suitability and tax. Investing involves risk: you may lose money, and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. xStocks are not available in the United States or to U.S. persons; other geographic restrictions apply.
Using xStocks in third-party DeFi protocols (for example to earn yield or as collateral) is not provided by PDSL or PEDSL-CY and carries additional risks, including smart contract failure and forced liquidation, and may result in the loss of some or all of your investment.
Read the xStocks Risk Disclosure, the Base Prospectus and Final Terms and PEDSL-CY’s Risk Disclosures.
