Key Points
- Kraken’s xStocks, tokenized versions of popular stocks and ETFs, are now expanding to the TRON blockchain, marking the third network integration in under two months.
- This move leverages TRON’s low fees and high throughput, potentially opening tokenized equities to millions of global users outside the U.S.
- Evidence shows xStocks have hit over $2.5 billion in trading volume since June 2025, but risks like price deviations and regulatory hurdles remain.
- While promising for DeFi integration, experts caution about liquidity issues and misalignments, with some tokenized assets straying up to 300% from real prices.
Kraken has announced a strategic partnership with Backed Finance and TRON DAO to expand its tokenized equities product, xStocks, to the TRON blockchain. This move, revealed on August 20, 2025, marks the third blockchain integration for xStocks in less than 60 days, following launches on Solana and BNB Chain.
The expansion aims to enhance global access to tokenized stocks, leveraging TRON’s efficient infrastructure to bridge traditional finance (TradFi) with decentralized finance (DeFi).
xStocks are innovative blockchain tokens that represent fractional ownership of popular U.S. equities and ETFs. Issued by Backed and available through Kraken, each token is fully backed 1:1 by the underlying asset held in a segregated special purpose vehicle (SPV).
This setup ensures transparency through real-time on-chain verification. Users can trade assets like Apple (AAPLx), Tesla (TSLAx), Nvidia (NVDAx), Amazon (AMZNx), GameStop (GMEx), and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPYx) around the clock, without the limitations of traditional stock markets.
Since its debut in late June 2025, xStocks has achieved over $2.5 billion in combined centralized exchange (CEX) and decentralized exchange (DEX) trading volume, reflecting strong demand in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization sector, which has grown to $26.4 billion in 2025.
The choice of TRON is driven by its robust features: high transaction throughput, minimal fees, and a vast DeFi user base. As of August 2025, TRON boasts over 324 million user accounts, more than 11 billion total transactions, and a total value locked (TVL) exceeding $26 billion, according to TRONSCAN data. It also hosts the largest circulating supply of USDT stablecoin at over $82 billion, facilitating seamless transfers.
Daily settlements on TRON surpass $22 billion, positioning it as a top blockchain for stablecoin and DeFi activities. This integration will deploy xStocks as TRC-20 tokens, allowing users to interact with them in TRON’s ecosystem, including apps like SunSwap for swaps and JustLend for collateralized lending.
