London Stock Exchange partners with Kraken’s parent to tokenize the UK’s 100 largest stocks
LSEG and Payward plan to bring blockchain-based tokens of FTSE-listed companies to Kraken’s xStocks platform, with an eye toward a 24-hour trading venue launching in 2027.
London Stock Exchange Group and Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced a partnership to tokenize the 100 largest UK-listed companies, issuing blockchain-based tokens through Kraken's xStocks platform that are backed one-to-one by the underlying shares.
The tokens would give holders exposure to household FTSE names without holding the shares directly on a traditional exchange account. Under the announced structure, each token is collateralized by an actual share held in custody, rather than being a synthetic derivative with no underlying asset — the model xStocks already uses for the U.S. equities it has tokenized on Kraken to date.
LSEG said it intends, subject to regulatory approval, to list the tokens on LSE 24, a new around-the-clock trading venue the exchange plans to launch in 2027. A 24-hour listing venue would let the tokenized shares trade outside the standard hours of the London market itself, addressing a structural limitation of listed equities: the underlying stock only prices during exchange hours, while crypto-adjacent products trade continuously.
Distribution runs through Kraken and the broader xStocks Alliance, which the companies said would make the tokens available to investors in more than 110 countries. UK-based investors are notably excluded from that initial distribution, reflecting the more restrictive stance UK regulators have taken toward retail access to crypto-linked investment products compared with some other jurisdictions.
The deal is the latest instance of a longer-running convergence between traditional exchanges and crypto infrastructure, as incumbent venues look to tokenization both to extend trading hours and to reach investors who transact through crypto exchanges rather than traditional brokerages. Actual implementation still depends on the regulatory approvals LSEG flagged, and the 2027 timeline for LSE 24 leaves substantial room for the plan to shift before any token actually trades.