London Stock Exchange to work with Payward to bring biggest UK stocks onchain
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is partnering with Kraken-owner Payward to tokenize the shares of the UK's 100 largest companies. These 'xStocks' will allow for 24/7 trading on blockchain rails, though they will not be available to UK-based investors initially.
Why it matters
This move represents a significant step in the institutional adoption of blockchain technology for traditional financial assets, potentially increasing liquidity and accessibility in global markets.
On Tuesday, the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) and Payward, the owner of crypto exchange Kraken, said they will bring shares of the U.K.’s largest listed companies to the blockchain.
Over the coming weeks, the 100 largest LSE-listed companies will be made available on Payward’s xStocks tokenized equities framework. The tokens, or xStocks, are one-to-one-backed versions of the underlying shares that can trade 24/7 on centralized exchanges, in self-custody wallets and across onchain applications.
The project reflects a shift that’s been in progress for at least two years in other public markets: tokenizing real-world assets such as equities, bonds and commodities, then issuing blockchain-based versions that can trade more easily than the underlying instruments.
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