Kraken to Launch Tokenized U.S. Stocks for Global Clients via Solana Blockchain

Crypto exchange Kraken is stepping into the world of traditional finance by offering tokenized U.S. stocks to clients outside the United States—a move that blurs the line between digital assets and legacy investments. The initiative is part of Kraken’s broader strategy to expand its portfolio of tokenized real-world assets and make traditional markets more accessible to global investors.

The new service will be powered by Backed, a partner platform, and will use the Solana blockchain to issue and manage the tokenized stocks. Solana was chosen for its speed, low transaction costs, and growing developer ecosystem.

“The whole point of crypto is transparency,” Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said at Solana’s Accelerate event on May 22. “It's decentralized. It’s open-source. You can innovate as quickly as possible, and there’s no reason why companies like us can’t evolve to do that.”

Kraken’s move to offer tokenized equities suggests a broader pivot beyond crypto-native competitors like Coinbase and toward traditional investing platforms such as Robinhood. Kraken has already begun exploring this path in the U.S., having launched access to ETFs and stock trading in select states including New Jersey, Wyoming, and Connecticut as of mid-April.

This global tokenized stock rollout could give Kraken an edge in the increasingly competitive race to blend crypto with conventional finance.

Tokenized real-world assets (RWAs) have emerged as one of crypto’s most promising frontiers. The market cap for RWAs—including assets like private credit, U.S. Treasurys, and now tokenized stocks—has surged 42.8% this year, rising from $15.9 billion in January to $22.7 billion by May 20, according to sector data.

While tokenized U.S. stocks currently make up a modest $373.4 million of that total, interest is picking up quickly. Robinhood recently announced plans to launch its own blockchain-based platform for tokenized securities, targeting European investors with exposure to U.S. equities.

Tokenization allows traditional assets to be split into digital units that can be bought, sold, or transferred on a blockchain. This reduces reliance on traditional clearing systems, lowers entry barriers for retail investors, and increases market transparency.