Kraken expands into tokenized US IPO access through xStocks

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, will soon allow retail investors outside traditional brokerage channels to participate in US listed initial public offerings through tokenized equity allocations at the IPO price.

The company said its xStocks framework will let eligible customers of Kraken and select xStocks Alliance members submit interest in upcoming US listed IPOs before a company goes public. If allocations are approved, users would receive tokenized shares at the offering price on listing day through the exchange they already use.

The product targets a part of capital markets that has historically favored institutional investors, private banking clients, and platforms with direct underwriter relationships. Retail investors often gain access only after shares begin trading publicly, when prices may already have moved above the IPO level.

Under the process, partner exchanges will open an indication of interest window in the weeks before a listing. Customers can submit non binding offers within the company’s indicated price range, while Payward Services aggregates demand and works with an underwriting syndicate on behalf of xStocks Alliance partners.

On listing day, finalized IPO allocations will be tokenized and distributed to eligible customers. Each tokenized equity will be backed 1:1 by the underlying share, which will be held in custody by a regulated entity.

Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, said going public should mean public to everyone. He added that access to IPO pricing has long depended on geography and net worth, while Payward’s xStocks infrastructure aims to make similar access available to retail investors in markets such as Medellín, Madrid, and Malaysia.

The offering builds on xStocks, Payward Services’ tokenized equities framework designed to make equity exposure portable across crypto platforms. The company said xStocks tokens are blockchain agnostic, interoperable across chains, composable with DeFi protocols, and available through platforms in the xStocks Alliance.

Payward said the xStocks framework has processed more than $30 billion in total transaction volume in its first year, including more than $6 billion settled onchain across over 125,000 unique holders globally.

Payward said the first tokenized IPOs powered by xStocks will be available in the coming weeks to customers of Kraken and other xStocks Alliance members, with plans to expand the offering to additional markets and partners.