Competitors in the fledgling tokenized stock market are escalating their crypto war against Robinhood by expanding offerings onto the Binance BNB Chain. Kraken partnered with Backed Finance, the company behind xStocks tokenized trading.
BNB Chain Expansion
Backed Finance’s xStocks platform, which already existed on Solana, will now integrate with the BNB Chain blockchain after Kraken’s partnerships with multiple partners to expand the offering.
Kraken users will be able to trade tokenized shares of Tesla, Nvidia, and Apple on the Binance network through xStocks.
According to David Henderson, Backed Finance’s head of growth, some exchanges appear to be leveraging xStocks’ permissionless nature, potentially deploying its tokenized stocks without formal partnership agreements due to its design.
Kraken stated its xStocks platform targets “chain-agnostic tokenized trading,” aiming to prevent another “wall-garden” (isolated ecosystem), while still acknowledging Binance as a key expansion target.
Growing Tokenization Market
The expansion is part of a rapidly growing market projected by Ripple and Boston Consulting Group to reach $19 trillion by 2033.
This burgeoning market is attracting significant competition, moving beyond the key Kraken-Backed-Robinhood rivalry.
Plays include: Coinbase seeking SEC approval for tokenized stocks, established traditional finance actors like JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup launching their own tokenization platforms, and notable deals like Ondo Finance acquiring SEC-regulated broker Oasis Pro.
Future of Stock Trading
Industry experts believe tokenization fundamentally changes stock trading. Galaxy Digital analysts warn legacy firms risk being reduced to “mere custodians” if new players effectively dominate.
