The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is partnering with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to bring tokenized versions of the 100 largest UK-listed companies onto blockchain networks, expanding access to London equities through 24/7 trading.
Under the partnership, Payward will tokenize the companies through its xStocks framework in the coming weeks, subject to regulatory requirements. The tokens will represent the underlying shares on a 1:1 basis and will be designed to trade across centralized exchanges, self-custody wallets and onchain applications.
24/7 access to UK equities
xStocks are blockchain-based representations of publicly traded equities. They are designed to move between exchanges, wallets and decentralized applications while tracking the performance of the underlying stock. Payward said xStocks have generated more than $40 billion in total volume since launching in June 2025, with nearly $20 billion settled onchain. The framework now has more than 200,000 holders.
The planned UK stock tokens will be accessible to investors across more than 110 countries. However, xStocks are not currently available to investors based in the UK.
The partnership will eventually allow the tokenized shares to reach the London Stock Exchange’s own trading infrastructure. Subject to regulatory approval, the LSE plans to list xStocks and support their trading through LSE 24, its recently announced 24-hour trading venue. The planned xStocks offering spans equities from the U.S., Europe, the UK, and Hong Kong, as well as potentially other asset classes.
Beyond tokenized shares
Payward and the LSE will also explore the possibility of LSE-issued equity tokens, which would allow exchange members to issue and service shares directly onchain. The proposed structure would aim to preserve the same rights and fungibility as traditional shares.
That could eventually shift tokenization from simply creating blockchain representations of existing securities toward issuing and managing securities natively on blockchain infrastructure.
Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the partnership reflects a broader convergence between crypto infrastructure and traditional financial markets. “Tokenization hasn’t just widened who can reach a market, it changes how the market itself works,” Sethi said.
LSE plc CEO Julia Hoggett took a more measured view, saying tokenization needs to develop while preserving the trust, rights and role of regulated markets.
A wider shift toward tokenization
The agreement comes as major financial-market operators increasingly experiment with blockchain-based versions of traditional assets.
Tokenized equities, bonds and other real-world assets can potentially operate beyond conventional market hours and move between different blockchain-based applications. Market participants are also examining whether tokenized assets could eventually be used as collateral for lending and other financial activity.
For the LSE, the partnership provides a way to test how blockchain-based assets could fit alongside established exchange infrastructure without immediately replacing the existing market structure.
The next major step will depend on regulatory approval and the LSE’s rollout of its 24-hour trading venue, which will determine how far the partnership can extend tokenized UK equities into regulated exchange markets.
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