Kraken Launches 24/7 Tokenised Stock Trading
The exchange secured regulatory approval across multiple jurisdictions before launch, learning from predecessor's compliance failures.
Kraken is launching tokenised trading of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia shares for global customers, something Binance tried and abandoned three years ago.
The crypto exchange will offer over 50 US stocks and ETFs as blockchain tokens, available 24/7 to customers in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Trading begins within weeks.
Kraken chose Solana blockchain for "unmatched performance, low latency and thriving global ecosystem."
The network can handle continuous trading without Ethereum's gas fee constraints or settlement delays which is critical for 24/7 equity markets.
"The whole point of crypto is that we're able to see things very transparently, it's decentralised. It is open-source. You can innovate as quickly as possible," Sethi said at Solana's Accelerate event.
What Changes
24/7 equity trading eliminates geographic and temporal barriers
Asian investors can react immediately to US earnings announcements
Weekend news no longer requires waiting until Monday to trade
European customers avoid complex US market access procedures
Popular stocks include Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, plus ETFs like SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) and SPDR Gold Shares (GLD).
The Binance Precedent
Binance launched tokenised stocks in 2021 before regulatory pressure forced them to shut down entirely.
Kraken believes it's solved the compliance puzzle that broke its competitor. The exchange is "actively working with various regulators" to ensure legal operation across jurisdictions.
The difference? Kraken partnered with Backed Finance, which holds actual shares and issues tokens backed 1:1 by real securities. Users can redeem tokens for cash value at any time.
Real-world asset tokenisation has hit $22.7 billion, reflecting rising investor interest. Tokenised stocks currently represent just $397 million of this market, suggesting massive growth potential.
Read: Is Tokenisation's Breakthrough Moment Here? 🔗
Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi predicts one tokenised equity will eventually exceed Tether's $110 billion market cap.
"Now you can have fifty, five hundred, a thousand of those tokenised equities, then you do futures and options trading on top of that," he said.
Kraken learned from Binance's mistakes by prioritising compliance upfront rather than launching first and dealing with consequences later.
The exchange avoids the US market entirely, focusing on regions with clearer regulatory frameworks for tokenised securities.
This measured approach contrasts sharply with Binance's 2021 launch, which collapsed under regulatory scrutiny from multiple countries.
The move positions Kraken against traditional brokerages like Robinhood rather than crypto-native exchanges like Coinbase.
Robinhood is developing its own blockchain for tokenised securities targeting European investors, direct competition for Kraken's new offering.
Kraken's March acquisition of futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion signals broader multi-asset ambitions beyond cryptocurrency.
The success depends on regulatory approval across target markets and user adoption of tokenised equities. If demand matches projections, traditional brokerages may struggle to compete with 24/7 global access and blockchain-enabled transparency.
The exchange becomes the first to successfully launch tokenised US equities, setting a precedent for crypto's expansion into traditional finance.