Kraken Makes Bold Move: Acquires Backed Finance for Tokenization Push

Kraken acquires Backed Finance to boost its tokenized stocks and ETFs offering, unifying issuance and trading, and strengthening its position ahead of a planned 2026 public listing.

Kraken has announced the acquisition of Backed Finance, a prominent platform specializing in the issuance of tokenized stocks and ETFs. This move is designed to strengthen Kraken’s position in the rapidly expanding tokenization market, enabling the exchange to unify the issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized real-world assets under one platform. Backed Finance, which operates the xStocks platform and holds a significant share of the tokenized equities market, brings advanced technology and regulatory expertise to Kraken. The acquisition will allow Kraken to integrate tokenized products more deeply into its trading ecosystem, streamline listing and settlement processes, and enhance its infrastructure for regulated financial products. With xStocks surpassing $10 billion in trading volume and offering over 60 tokenized equities and ETFs, Kraken aims to accelerate the adoption of tokenized assets and bridge traditional finance with blockchain markets. The deal comes as Kraken prepares for a potential public listing in 2026 and reflects a broader industry trend toward the convergence of crypto and traditional capital markets.