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The London Stock Exchange has partnered with Kraken parent Payward to bring shares of the 100 largest London-listed companies onto the xStocks tokenization framework, opening the door for the products to eventually trade through the exchange's planned 24-hour venue.
Payward and the London Stock Exchange said Tuesday that the first batch of U.K. equities will become available as xStocks in the coming weeks, extending a tokenized stock platform that has already generated more than $40 billion in total trading volume. Nearly $20 billion of that activity has settled onchain, while the products have attracted more than 200,000 holders.
Tokenization Starts With 100 London Companies
Under the partnership, shares of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange will be made available through Payward's xStocks framework. Each xStock is backed one-to-one by the corresponding underlying security. The blockchain-based products can trade around the clock through supported centralized exchanges, move into self-custody wallets and interact with compatible onchain applications.
The planned London rollout would give eligible investors across more than 110 countries access to tokenized versions of U.K.-listed companies. Notably, xStocks are not currently available to investors based in the United Kingdom. The agreement comes as Payward has been taking the framework beyond its original focus on U.S.-listed companies.
Payward had previously partnered with financial infrastructure provider GTN to expand xStocks internationally, beginning with Hong Kong-listed shares before targeting the U.K., Europe, South Korea and other approved markets. By Aug. 18, xStocks had processed more than $38 billion in total transaction volume as Kraken rolled out 7,000 U.S. stocks to eligible customers across the European Economic Area.
LSE 24 Could Become a Regulated Venue
The partnership extends beyond distributing tokenized London-listed shares through Payward's existing network. Subject to regulatory approval, the London Stock Exchange plans to list xStocks and support their trading on LSE 24, its recently announced round-the-clock venue. The platform is expected to eventually cover tokenized equities from the U.S., European Union, U.K. and Hong Kong, with other asset classes potentially added as the framework develops.
The exchange had already been preparing to extend access beyond conventional London market hours. In July, the LSE was reported to be preparing a separate overnight market targeted for the first half of 2027. Initial plans called for the venue to offer exchange-traded products linked to the U.K. and U.S. stock markets. LSE CEO Julia Hoggett said at the time that retail traders were showing interest in using London's time zone to gain exposure to both U.K. and international assets.
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi described the arrangement as a combination of regulated financial markets and blockchain infrastructure. "For years, the assumption was that crypto and traditional finance were on a collision course, and one of them would have to lose. That was never the real story," Sethi said. Hoggett took a more cautious position, saying tokenization "must develop in a way that preserves the trust, rights and role of regulated markets."
Shares Could Eventually Be Issued Directly Onchain
A separate part of the partnership could take the companies beyond blockchain representations backed by conventionally issued shares. Payward and the LSE said they will explore natively LSE-issued equity tokens, which would allow exchange members to issue and service shares directly onchain. Under the proposed model, the blockchain-issued securities would be fully fungible with their traditional counterparts and carry the same rights as conventional shares.
That differs from the current xStocks structure, where tokens are issued against securities held through the product's underlying custody framework. Payward has been expanding how xStocks can be used as the platform gains volume. In July, Kraken began allowing eligible customers outside the United States to use selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin trading on Kraken Pro.
Ten assets were accepted when the feature launched, including tokenized versions of Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, Robinhood, Alphabet and several major exchange-traded funds. Broad-market products such as tokenized SPY and QQQ received 10% haircuts at launch, while several individual stocks carried 20% haircuts and more volatile securities received higher discounts. Learn more about NYSE's tokenization plans with tZERO and multi-chain asset expansion trends.