London Stock Exchange partners with Kraken parent Payward on tokenized UK stocks. Last updated: September 1, 2026 11:16 am Published: September 1, 2026 The London Stock Exchange and Kraken parent Payward have partnered to bring the 100 largest London-listed companies onchain through xStocks, expanding the tokenized-equity platform beyond its existing international markets. The 100 largest London-listed companies are expected to become available as xStocks in the coming weeks. Each token will be backed 1:1 by its underlying security and can move between supported exchanges, self-custody wallets and onchain applications. Top London stocks expand xStocks beyond U.S. Equities. The London rollout will give eligible investors in more than 110 countries 24/7 access to tokenized exposure to some of the UK's largest public companies. UK-based investors remain excluded because xStocks are not currently offered in the country. xStocks have already processed more than $40 billion in total transaction volume, including nearly $20 billion settled onchain, across more than 200,000 holders. The platform now spans more than 700 tokenized equities and ETFs, with assets transferable across multiple blockchain networks. Kraken has also expanded the utility of the tokens beyond spot exposure by allowing selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin positions among eligible users. LSE 24 plans xStocks trading in 2027. The London Stock Exchange plans to list xStocks on LSE 24 during 2027, subject to regulatory approval. The venue will operate separately from the LSE Main Market and is designed for near-continuous weekday trading. LSE 24 will run from 17:00 to 07:50, with a 30-minute end-of-day processing pause between 18:30 and 19:00. Client testing is scheduled by the end of 2026, while exchange-traded products are expected to become the venue's first asset class during the first half of 2027. The partnership extends Payward's push to connect tokenized equities with regulated exchange infrastructure. An earlier Nasdaq partnership is developing a separate gateway between issuer-sponsored securities and blockchain-based distribution. LSE and Payward explore native onchain shares. The collaboration also covers a second structure that would move beyond today's 1:1-backed xStocks model. Payward and the LSE will explore native LSE-issued equity tokens carrying the same rights and full fungibility as traditional shares. That model would preserve conventional shareholder rights while moving issuance, trading and servicing onto blockchain infrastructure. LSEG's Digital Securities Depository is being developed to handle the issuance, recording, transfer, asset servicing and settlement of tokenized securities within regulated market infrastructure.

BREAKING: London Stock Exchange partners with Kraken's parent to tokenize UK stocks. Varinder Singh * London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has partnered with Payward to launch tokenized UK stocks. * The UK 100 largest listed equities will launch as xStocks in 2027. * It follows as LSE plans to launch extended trading hours and blockchain-based settlement. London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has partnered with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to tokenize stocks in the UK. The 100 largest listed equities will launch as xStocks in 2027. London Stock Exchange and Kraken's parent Payward to launch tokenized xStocks. In an official announcement on September 1, LSEG revealed plans to launch UK tokenized equity structures as part of a deeper push into the crypto industry. This comes after earlier plans for a blockchain-based settlement service. Under the agreement, stocks of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange will be issued as xStocks through Payward's tokenization framework. It will launch on its 24-hour trading venue LSE 24 in 2027, subject to regulatory approval. The two companies will explore wallet-based access, blockchain infrastructure, and connectivity with LSEG's regulated market ecosystem. The xStocks launch plans follow Kraken's launch of US stock trading in the European Economic Area (EEA). Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange, said tokenization "must develop in a way that preserves the trust, rights and role of regulated markets." Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the partnership as proof that crypto and traditional finance can work together rather than compete. As CoinGape reported earlier, LSE plans to launch extended trading hours in early 2027. The exchange aims to win back retail investors drawn to 24/7 stock and tokenized offerings by crypto firms. Expanding demand from UK investors. Many British retail investors have already transitioned their capital to a top UK crypto trading platform to bypass the restricted hours of traditional domestic stock brokers. Stock exchanges are now facing competition from crypto firms that offer benefits such as flexible access, real-time settlement, and 24/7 trading. Notably, crypto exchange Coinbase launched 24/5 US stock trading to all users in the UK. In addition, Robinhood began rolling out crypto, stocks, ISAs, and derivatives trading to eligible UK customers via Bitstamp. This comes as the platform continues to expand its broader crypto ecosystem. For investors seeking on-chain exposure to traditional equities, check the best exchanges for tokenized stocks that provide a secure bridge to hybrid digital assets.

London Stock Exchange partners with Payward on tokenised equities. The London Stock Exchange has partnered with Payward to explore tokenised UK equity structures and list xStocks. The London Stock Exchange has partnered with Payward to explore tokenised UK equity structures and list xStocks. The London Stock Exchange has announced plans to launch UK tokenised equity structures and has formed a partnership with Payward, a financial infrastructure platform, to examine how regulated market infrastructure and digital-native distribution could support the next phase of tokenised public equity markets. The London Stock Exchange is assessing a UK tokenised equity structure intended to broaden access to capital markets while preserving shareholder rights, protections, and governance standards associated with public markets. As part of this work, the exchange will examine how the London Stock Exchange Group's (LSEG) Digital Securities Depository (LSEG DSD) could support settlement and asset servicing, subject to regulatory approval. The initiative sits within LSEG's wider efforts to modernise market infrastructure and support the digitalisation of capital markets. Related initiatives include LSE 24, a 24-hour trading venue announced by LSEG in 2026, the LSEG DSD, and the Digital Settlement House (LSEG DiSH). Through these combined efforts, the London Stock Exchange aims to develop a rights-preserving model for tokenised public equities that could expand investor access, offer issuers alternative routes to market, and support the movement of assets across increasingly digital financial markets while reducing fragmented pools of liquidity. According to the official press release, the partnership with Payward will focus on how digital-native access, wallet-based interaction, and partner infrastructure could connect with LSEG's regulated market ecosystem, with the aim of enabling connectivity between tokenised and traditional infrastructure. The two companies will explore how regulated capital markets could connect with on-chain ecosystems, creating a potential route for issuers and investors to use private and public blockchains while continuing to meet regulatory obligations, including AML and operational resilience requirements. Separately, as part of the collaboration and subject to regulatory approval, the London Stock Exchange intends to list xStocks and begin trading them on LSE 24 in 2027. Julia Hoggett, CEO of LSE plc and Head of Digital and Securities Markets at LSEG, said tokenisation has the potential to change how investors access, and how issuers use, financial markets, but noted that this must occur in a way that preserves the trust, rights, and role of regulated markets. She added that the collaboration with Payward, alongside continued work across the market infrastructure ecosystem, forms part of exploring how issuers and investors can benefit from new forms of access while maintaining existing market standards. In addition, Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, said the assumption that crypto and traditional finance were on a collision course has proven incorrect, and that tokenisation changes how markets function, including issuance, trading, settlement, and asset mobility. He said bringing London-listed companies on-chain as xStocks demonstrates new forms of access to public markets, and that connecting this access with established market infrastructure represents the next step in the process. The announcement adds to a series of initiatives by LSEG focused on digital market infrastructure, reflecting continued exploration by established exchanges of blockchain-based settlement and distribution models for public equities... Sep 01, 2026 00:00