Kraken Opens Jersey Mike's IPO to Retail Investors via Tokenized Shares

Crypto exchange Kraken is offering retail investors access to Jersey Mike's initial public offering (IPO), allowing eligible US customers to request allocations of the sandwich chain's shares and users in more than 110 countries to request tokenized shares backed 1:1 by the underlying stock.

The tokenized shares, called JMKEx, will begin trading on Kraken and participating xStocks Alliance platforms once the IPO closes. The underlying Jersey Mike's shares will trade during regular US market hours.

Kraken said that tokenized shares can be transferred across participating xStocks Alliance platforms, moved onchain, and integrated with compatible decentralized finance applications.

Jersey Mike's is a US sandwich chain with more than 3,300 locations. According to the company's IPO announcement, it expects to price the offering between $21 and $25 per share and list its Class A shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JMKE.