Kraken to Acquire Backed Finance, Expanding Tokenized Equities

Kraken Acquires Backed Finance to Strengthen Its Tokenized Equities Push

Kraken has agreed to acquire Backed Finance, the issuer behind its xStocks product, which brings the issuer inside the exchange as tokenized equities gain traction.

Key Points:

• Kraken did not disclose financial terms of the acquisition.
• The move comes as Kraken prepares for a planned 2026 IPO.
• Backed issues on-chain representations of about 71 assets across public equities and ETFs.
• The firm is the second-largest provider of tokenized public stocks, with about 23% market share.

xStocks Expansion and Market Impact

The platform has expanded distribution for xStocks over the past year, rolling out the service in the United States, Europe, and extending support to Tron, BNB, and Solana.

xStocks has produced more than $5 billion in cumulative trading volume on its platform.

Backed's Technology and Reach

Backed's technology is used beyond Kraken, with Bybit relying on Backed to add tokenized equities in Nvidia, Strategy, and other firms to Mantle's on-chain ecosystem.

Backed is a common backend for tokenized stock products.

Tokenization Trends and Market Projections

• BlackRock executives Larry Fink and Rob Goldstein recently said tokenization could reshape financial markets.
• Standard Chartered has projected tokenized real-world assets could reach $2 trillion by 2028.
• Demand for tokenized yield products and collateral that can be used on-chain has pushed growth through 2025.

Impact of Acquisition on Kraken

The deal gives Kraken closer control over issuance and maintenance for tokenized equities.

It also creates a clearer path to link those assets with spot markets and collateral frameworks on the exchange.

Future Plans and Acquisitions

Kraken has been building around tokenization as it scales toward public markets.

The company closed a funding round this year that valued it at about $20 billion.

Kraken has also paired product expansion with acquisitions, including the Small Exchange and NinjaTrader.

Stronger Presence in the Market

The acquisition solidifies Kraken's position in the market, enabling it to offer a more comprehensive range of tokenized equities products.