Kraken Tokenizes Apple, Tesla, Nvidia for Global 24/7 Equity Access

• Kraken is taking advantage of the positive crypto environment in the United States under Donald Trump’s presidency. 
• The exchange plans to offer tokenized versions of Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia stocks on the Solana blockchain.

For years, international investors have faced a frustrating reality: limited access to U.S. stocks, high brokerage fees, and market hours that just don’t fit their time zones. Whether you’re in Lagos, Mumbai, or Buenos Aires, buying shares of companies like Apple, Tesla, or Nvidia has often come with too many hoops to jump through.

But Kraken, the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, is about to change that. The company is preparing to roll out a brand-new platform for users outside the United States, giving them the ability to trade tokenized versions of major U.S. stocks, any time, any day of the week. Just like Bitcoin, this platform will be live 24/7, breaking free from Wall Street’s traditional 9-to-5. And you’ll even be able to store these tokenized stocks in your own crypto wallet.

Kraken’s 24/7 xStocks Platform

Dubbed xStocks, this offering aims to dramatically expand access to equities by turning them into blockchain-based tokens that can be traded like any cryptocurrency, with no closing bell, no middlemen, and far fewer barriers for global investors. Investors will have the option to hold these tokenized assets in their crypto wallets.

With tokenized stocks from companies, investors in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and Europe can now bypass many of those roadblocks. The idea is simple: offer the same blue-chip investment opportunities that U.S. investors enjoy,  but with lower fees, faster settlement, and around-the-clock access.

The xStocks initiative will tokenize over 50 of the world’s most sought-after stocks and ETFs, such as the SPDR S&P 500 and SPDR Gold Shares, including household names like Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon. These tokens will represent real shares held in custody by Kraken’s partner, Backed Finance, and they’ll be issued on the fast, low-fee Solana blockchain.

Each token will mirror the value of its real-world counterpart and can be redeemed for its underlying asset’s cash value, meaning the tokens are not just speculative stand-ins but actually backed by the real thing. This will give investors the confidence of knowing their investment is backed by actual equity, not just a synthetic product.

Notably, in 2021, Binance introduced tokenized stocks. While Binance marketed it as a convenient and modern way to gain equity exposure without needing to leave the crypto world, global financial regulators quickly raised red flags. By July 2021, just months after launching, Binance shut down the tokenized stock product. Hopefully, Kraken’s platform will last longer.

This power move from Kraken may be labelled as a comeback. In November 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a lawsuit against Kraken, accusing the exchange of operating as an unregistered securities exchange, broker, dealer, and clearing agency since 2018. In August 2024, a federal judge ruled that the SEC’s allegations were plausible, allowing the case to proceed to trial.

Then, on March 3, Crypto News Flash reported that the SEC agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against Kraken with prejudice, meaning the case cannot be reopened. The dismissal did not involve any admission of wrongdoing by Kraken, nor did it impose penalties or require changes to the company’s business operations.