Kraken Acquires Backed Finance to Bolster Tokenization Strategy Pre-IPO

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Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has entered into an agreement to purchase Backed Finance, the tokenized asset issuer that powers its xStocks offering. This move consolidates Kraken’s position in the rapidly expanding digital assets sector as it progresses toward a targeted initial public offering in 2026.

Backed Finance creates on-chain tokens representing approximately 71 assets, including public equities and ETFs, each fully collateralized by the corresponding real-world security. Data from RWA.xyz identifies the firm as the second-largest issuer of tokenized public stocks, commanding roughly 23% market share.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed in Kraken’s official announcement.

The purchase finalizes a collaborative partnership that Kraken has been developing over the past year. Backed has been the foundational provider for xStocks since its inception, supporting products that have amassed over $5 billion in cumulative trading volume on Kraken’s platform. The exchange launched the service in the US this year, later introducing European access and extending blockchain support to include Tron, BNB Chain, and Solana.

Backed’s technological infrastructure also underpins a rising number of tokenization initiatives industry-wide. For instance, Bybit utilized Backed to integrate tokenized equities for companies like Nvidia and Strategy into the Mantle network’s on-chain ecosystem.