London Stock Exchange partners with Kraken parent to tokenise UK stocks

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) announced a partnership with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, to tokenise shares of the 100 largest companies listed on the LSE. The tokenised shares will be issued on Payward’s xStocks framework and could later be traded on the LSE’s forthcoming 24‑hour venue, LSE 24, pending regulatory approval.

Scope of the tokenisation

Under the agreement, each xStock will be backed one‑to‑one by the underlying security. The tokens will be available to eligible investors in more than 110 countries, although they will not be offered to investors residing in the United Kingdom.

Trading and settlement

xStocks can trade around the clock on supported centralized exchanges, be moved to self‑custody wallets, and interact with compatible on‑chain applications. To date, the xStocks platform has generated over $40 billion in total trading volume, with nearly $20 billion settled directly on‑chain and more than 200,000 holders.

Potential listing on LSE 24

The LSE plans to list the tokenised equities on its upcoming LSE 24 venue, which aims to provide regulated, 24‑hour trading. Listing is subject to approval from UK regulators.

Exploring native on‑chain equity tokens

Beyond issuing tokens backed by conventional shares, Payward and the LSE will explore the creation of native equity tokens issued directly on‑chain. Such tokens would carry the same rights as traditional shares and be fully fungible with their conventional counterparts.

Broader context

The partnership follows Payward’s recent expansion of the xStocks framework beyond U.S. equities, including collaborations to bring tokenised assets to Hong Kong, Europe and South Korea. Earlier this year, Kraken enabled eligible non‑U.S. customers to use selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin trading.

Market reaction

Shares of the London Stock Exchange Group fell about 2 % in early trading on the day of the announcement.