London Stock Exchange Puts 100 Biggest UK Stocks on Blockchain via Kraken's Parent Company

The London Stock Exchange is taking another major step in its foray into blockchain technology. The latest development involves a strategic partnership with Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken. With this collaboration, the stock exchange intends to bring shares of the 100 largest UK companies to its xStocks tokenization platform.  

London Stock Exchange to bring UK 100 stocks to xStocks

Today, the London Stock Exchange and Payward entered into a strategic agreement to bring UK stocks onchain in the coming weeks. The partnership intends to expand Payward’s tokenized stock platform that has already crossed $40 billion in trading volume.

The agreement stated that the stocks of the 100 largest companies listed on the LSE will be added to Payward’s xStocks platform. The xStocks will be backed by the corresponding traditional share on a 1:1 basis. This gives users an easier way to access traditional stocks with additional blockchain features.

Notably, the move comes on the heels of Kraken’s latest developments in the UK. As CoinCodex reported recently, Kraken expanded its US-based stock trading services to the European Economic Area.

xStocks is expanding into global markets

Interestingly, the collaboration with the London Stock Exchange comes as part of Payward’s expansion of its xStocks platform. The company is envisioning its reach beyond US equities, bringing it to more international markets.

In July, the company partnered with financial infrastructure provider GTN. This alliance mainly focuses on Hong Kong-listed shares. In addition, the platform had also revealed plans to further expand it into the UK, Europe, South Korea, and other global markets. Now, with the LSE partnership, xStocks allows eligible investors across 110 countries to access tokenized versions of major UK stocks. But xStocks are not available in the UK as of now.

LSE plans to add tokenized stocks to its LSE 24 venue

What is more interesting about the latest move is that it could bring Payward’s xStocks directly into the London Stock Exchange’s 24-hour trading system. If approved by the financial watchdog, the company will list xStocks and support their trading via LSE 24, its upcoming round-the-clock venue. LSE 24 will support tokenized stocks from other major markets, including the US, EU, UK, and Hong Kong eventually. The platform could also add other possible types of assets.

The stock exchange has been making efforts to extend trading beyond its usual market hours. In July, the platform revealed plans for an overnight trading venue, the launch of which could be expected by mid-2027.

According to CEO Julia Hoggett, the move is driven by the growing interest among retail investors to access UK and international assets outside regular market hours. Meanwhile, Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi stated, “For years, the assumption was that crypto and traditional finance were on a collision course, and one of them would have to lose. That was never the real story.”