Kraken’s xStocks, a tokenized version of U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), is now supported by The Open Network (TON) blockchain, making it accessible to non-U.S. users via Telegram’s in-built TON Wallet.
The integration allows users to buy, sell, and hold tokenized representations of U.S. stocks directly within the messaging app, removing the need for brokers or intermediaries.
xStocks currently features more than 50 tokenized U.S. equities, including shares of publicly traded companies such as Tesla and Nvidia, as well as the S&P 500 ETF, which will be available to most Telegram users globally.
The feature will be available in nearly all jurisdictions where TON Wallet operates, excluding the United States, the European Union, and Australia due to regulatory requirements, Egor Danilov, Chief Product Officer at TON, told Cointelegraph.
xStocks: A Kraken-Backed Initiative
The crypto exchange Kraken has collaborated closely with Backed, a Swiss-based company that enables the permissionless tracking of equities and ETFs, to develop infrastructure that widens access to financial systems.
The partnership launched xStocks in June 2025, offering tokenized representations of U.S. equities and ETFs that are fully collateralized and backed one-to-one by the underlying assets, which are held through regulated partners.
Since launch, xStocks has grown to over 84,000 wallet addresses, processing approximately $30 million in daily transaction volume, with total volume exceeding $12 billion.
xStocks was initially launched on the Solana blockchain and later expanded to Ethereum; expansions to TRON and Mantle are currently underway.
Earlier this month, Kraken announced its acquisition of Backed, stating that it was the next natural step toward scaling tokenized equities to a broader audience.
Expanding Financial Access via Telegram’s 900 Million Users
Telegram previously announced a partnership with Kraken in October to integrate tokenized equities into Wallet in Telegram, with a priority for emerging markets.
The messaging platform also disclosed its plan to expand tokenized asset support within its self-custody TON Wallet later this quarter, excluding users in the United Kingdom.
Kraken CEO David Ripley described the partnership with Telegram as “collapsing the distance between traditional markets and everyday users.”
Dan Dadybayo, research and strategy lead at Unstoppable Wallet, told Decrypt that Kraken’s move to embed tokenized assets directly into Telegram wallets represents a “massive UX unlock,” presenting an opportunity for users outside the U.S. and EU who have limited access to equity markets.
However, he noted a key limitation: xStocks will trade 24/5 rather than 24/7. Despite operating on-chain, trading of tokenised assets would still remain “anchored” to US market hours, which may introduce friction for crypto-native users accustomed to always-open DeFi markets.
Though a fully 24/7 tokenized equity market may be part of Kraken and Backed’s longer-term roadmap, as Backed recently stated on X that a round-the-clock tokenized equity market is “inevitable” but would require global distribution, regulatory depth, and operational scale.
Unlocking the Tokenized Stock Market for Mass Participation
TON Foundation president and CEO Max Crown said the integration would allow users to hold and trade tokenized U.S. equities “with the same ease as sending a message,” while retaining token custody through TON Wallet.
Telegram reports a global user base of over 900 million, while TON claims nearly 100 million users. With access to a large network of crypto-native users, Kraken’s move serves as a test of whether simplified onboarding alone is sufficient to bring the crypto population into tokenized equity markets.
Participation in traditional capital markets has long posed challenges, particularly for non-U.S. investors seeking exposure to U.S. equities. Tokenized equities offer an on-chain alternative, allowing users to gain price exposure and trade tokens without directly owning the underlying shares.
Though tokenized equities provide a relatively easier trading alternative compared to traditional securities trading, the sector is yet to achieve mainstream adoption, limiting participation to a certain audience. This emphasizes the need for “real tokenization,” which Co-CEO of Kraken, Arjun Seth, believes to be “neutral, composable financial building blocks that anyone can use.”
Kraken’s decision to integrate tokenized equities into Telegram, one of the world’s largest messaging platforms that doubles as a leading hub for crypto activity, reflects its effort to bridge traditional finance and decentralized infrastructure, making the stock market accessible to crypto and non-crypto natives.
