Key Highlights
- Payward partnered with GTN to expand xStocks into international equity markets.
- Hong Kong-listed stocks will be the first non-U.S. assets added to the platform.
- Future expansion includes UK, European, and South Korean equities, pending regulatory approvals.
Payward, the parent company of Kraken and developer of the xStocks tokenized equities framework, is preparing to expand its offering beyond U.S. securities through a new partnership with global fintech infrastructure provider GTN.
According to an official release made on Wednesday, the partnership will allow xStocks to begin tokenizing Hong Kong-listed equities, with additional markets, including the UK, Europe and South Korea, expected to follow once the necessary regulatory approvals are secured.
The companies also said the framework could eventually support tokenized versions of additional asset classes beyond publicly listed equities.
How the GTN expands xStocks
GTN will supply the execution, custody, and record-keeping infrastructure supporting the expansion. The company currently provides institutional access to more than 90 global financial markets through a single integration and serves brokers, banks and asset managers worldwide.
Under the agreement, GTN will also support the ledgering of tokenized assets and plans to distribute selected xStocks products to its institutional clients once the required licenses are obtained.
Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, said the partnership is intended to remove geographic barriers in capital markets. He added, “The biggest asset class that hasn’t been tokenized yet is the rest of the world, and our partnership with GTN is about changing that.”
GTN’s Global Head of FinTech, Ankit Shah, said the firm’s infrastructure allows partners to launch products across multiple markets without rebuilding their technology stack.
“Our infrastructure lets partners like Payward launch quickly across 90+ markets and a full range of instruments,” he said.
From U.S. stocks to global markets
The agreement marks another step in Payward’s broader strategy to expand the xStocks ecosystem.
In April, xStocks expanded to BNB Chain, bringing more than 50 tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs to the network while enabling DeFi applications such as lending, trading and collateralization.
A month later, Payward announced plans to offer tokenized access to U.S. IPOs, allowing retail investors to gain exposure to newly listed companies through the xStocks framework, with shares backed one-to-one by the underlying securities. The latest partnership extends that strategy beyond U.S. markets by introducing international equities into the tokenized ecosystem.
Building a global on-chain investment platform
Since launching in 2025, xStocks has grown from a platform focused on tokenized U.S. equities into one of the largest tokenized securities ecosystems.
According to Payward, the framework now supports more than 500 tokenized stocks, ETFs and IPOs, generating over $35 billion in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems.
With GTN providing access to international exchanges and market infrastructure, Payward aims to expand xStocks into a platform that supports tokenized assets from multiple jurisdictions within a single on-chain portfolio.
The companies said further details on additional markets and products will be announced as regulatory approvals are obtained.
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