LSE Partners With Payward to Launch xStocks Tokenization Initiative

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has partnered with Payward to tokenize 100 of the largest UK-listed companies on xStocks. This initiative will enable 24/7 access to tokenized stocks, which will be backed 1:1 by the underlying shares. The rollout is aimed for 2027.

According to Payward's chief commercial officer Mark Greenberg, tokenized stock trading will launch on LSE's new night-time trading venue, LSE 24, starting in 2027. LSE 24 offers 24/5 trading from Mondays to Fridays and is described as offering leading UK equity products.

LSE CEO Julia Hoggett stated that tokenization has the potential to change how investors access and how issuers use financial markets, while preserving trust, rights, and the role of regulated markets. Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the effort as making traditional and crypto markets work on the same rails.

UK investors will not be able to trade at launch due to xStocks being unavailable in the country, but tokenized shares are available to investors across more than 110 countries. The value of tokenized stocks is currently $2.53 billion, a 15% increase in the past 30 days.