Payward Expands xStocks Beyond US Markets with GTN Partnership
Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, has partnered with global fintech infrastructure provider GTN to expand its xStocks tokenized equities offering beyond US markets. This move marks a significant step for Payward in its efforts to make xStocks available globally.
The partnership will allow Payward to bring international equities onto the blockchain, starting with Hong Kong-listed stocks and eventually expanding into UK, European, and South Korean markets. GTN will provide the underlying infrastructure for trade execution, custody, and record-keeping across over 90 markets.
xStocks was launched in June 2025 as a platform for tokenizing US equities and ETFs, with a catalog of over 500 assets processed over $35 billion in transaction volume and held by more than 200,000 users. The tokens are backed one-to-one by real company shares held in regulated custody.
Mark Greenberg, global head of Payward Services, highlighted the legacy infrastructure problem in traditional markets that has led to capital market fragmentation by country, currency, and market hours.