Payward’s xStocks opens U.S. IPOs to global retail

Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, announced on June 3, 2026 that its xStocks tokenized equities framework will allow retail customers on Kraken and participating partner exchanges in more than 100 countries to buy allocations of U.S.-listed IPO shares at the offering price.

Under the xStocks IPO model, customers submit a non-binding indication of interest before a company lists. Payward Services aggregates that demand and works with the underwriting syndicate to secure allocations. On listing day, allocated shares are tokenized at a one-to-one ratio, held in custody by a regulated entity, and delivered to eligible customers through their existing exchange accounts at the IPO price.

The xStocks framework processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume in its first year, with over $6 billion settled onchain and more than 125,000 unique holders globally. The tokens are blockchain-agnostic and can be used in decentralized finance protocols, allowing investors to move tokenized shares across platforms rather than keeping them tied to a single venue.

Payward expects the first tokenized IPOs to be available to Kraken customers and other xStocks Alliance members within weeks. The company plans to expand access to additional markets and onboard more Alliance partners through 2026.

For exchanges in the xStocks Alliance, the product adds a service beyond spot crypto trading by offering IPO allocations at the offering price. Payward will coordinate allocation logistics with underwriting syndicates on behalf of participating platforms and maintain regulated custody arrangements for the underlying shares.

Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, wrote in a statement: “Going public should mean public to everyone. For decades, getting in at the IPO price has been a privilege of geography and net worth, and the most exciting moments in capital markets have been reserved for the investors closest to them. That worldview is breaking down.”