Kraken introduces perpetual futures for tokenized equities targeting international traders
The cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has rolled out perpetual futures tied to tokenized stocks for international customers, providing around-the-clock leveraged access to prominent US equities, major indices and precious metals.
The cryptocurrency trading platform Kraken has introduced trading for tokenized equity perpetual futures on its regulated derivatives exchanges, enabling qualified clients based outside the United States to access around-the-clock leveraged trading on major US stock indices, gold and specific corporations such as Nvidia, Apple and Tesla.
Based on the announcement made on Tuesday, these contracts are designed as perpetual futures, which are derivative instruments that operate without an expiration date, and are made available to qualified clients residing beyond US borders. The exchange characterized these offerings as the inaugural regulated tokenized equity perpetual futures to receive listing on a derivatives trading platform.
These offerings are constructed utilizing the xStocks infrastructure, which creates blockchain-based representations of stocks traded publicly and exchange-traded funds. The exchange indicated that these contracts are tied to tokenized equity benchmarks instead of maintaining direct ownership of the actual underlying shares.
This development capitalizes on the rapidly expanding marketplace for tokenized stocks, which leverage blockchain-based tools to replicate conventional shares and facilitate trading hours that extend beyond those offered by traditional stock exchanges. Through packaging these instruments within perpetual futures contracts, the exchange is incorporating leverage and continuous market liquidity into stock market exposure.
These contracts can be accessed in over 110 countries and permit leverage levels reaching up to 20x. The platform stated that further tokenized stock and ETF contracts could be introduced in upcoming months, pending regulatory clearance.
The clearing and execution processes are managed via Kraken's derivatives infrastructure, and these offerings remain unavailable to customers based in the United States, the company confirmed.
This announcement comes after Kraken's decision to purchase Backed Finance AG, which issues xStocks, in December. On Thursday, the exchange reported that xStocks had exceeded $25 billion in total transaction volume in under eight months following its initial launch.
Crypto exchanges expand into equities and traditional derivatives
Kraken's strategic initiative represents part of a wider trend among prominent US-originated cryptocurrency exchanges to diversify their offerings beyond cryptocurrency assets and provide trading access to conventional financial instruments.
In May, the exchange finalized its approximately $1.5 billion purchase of the futures trading platform NinjaTrader, which operates as a registered Futures Commission Merchant under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, broadening its reach into traditional derivatives trading markets.
Four months following that acquisition, the platform moved into tokenized stock offerings in Europe, introducing Backed's xStocks in September, which are blockchain-based equivalents of publicly traded stock certificates, targeting qualified investors throughout the European region.
The exchange is far from being the only player expanding into the tokenized stock space. In June, Gemini, the American cryptocurrency trading platform established by the Winklevoss brothers, introduced a tokenized representation of Strategy shares for customers located in the European Union.
In the month that followed, the platform broadened its selection of tokenized stocks to encompass US-listed corporations such as BlackRock, Visa, American Express, Sony, Broadcom, Prologis and Caterpillar.
On Tuesday, Coinbase, which holds the position as the largest US-headquartered cryptocurrency exchange measured by spot trading volume, introduced commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs to American users, enabling clients to purchase equities alongside cryptocurrency assets within a single application interface. This rollout was positioned as a component of the platform's strategic vision to evolve into an "everything app."