US-based Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, has confirmed its acquisition of Backed Finance AG, the company responsible for xStocks, a platform specializing in tokenized equities. This move adds to the exchange’s series of acquisitions this year and facilitates bringing the xStocks platform under Kraken’s management.

According to an announcement made on Tuesday, Kraken intends to enhance its integration of xStocks’ services, particularly in issuance, trading, and settlement, with its global money application while simultaneously expanding into new blockchains and markets.

xStocks allows users to trade tokenized assets linked to publicly traded equities and ETFs, boasting over 60 products and generating more than $10 billion in both exchange and on-chain transaction volumes since its launch.

The platform supports trading of these tokenized assets 24/7 and allows users to manage their assets across different networks.

This acquisition follows Kraken’s recent rollout of xStocks to eligible European users in September. Additionally, Kraken manages the xStocks Alliance—a collaborative network of various chains and trading platforms. The exchange asserts this merger will solidify its network, promoting better interoperability and liquidity as tokenized equity markets grow; however, specific details of the deal have not been made public.

In November, Kraken submitted a confidential IPO filing in the U.S. and has been aggressively acquiring other companies this year, with notable purchases including NinjaTrader in May, followed by the Breakout platform in September and Small Exchange in October.

Tokenized Equities Take Center Stage

The increasing popularity of tokenized equities, which digitally symbolize ownership of traditional stocks on a blockchain, is one of the significant trends in the cryptocurrency space this year.

In June, xStocks was in collaboration with prominent platforms such as Bybit and various DeFi platforms based on Solana, offering tokenized versions of esteemed stocks like Netflix, Meta, and Tesla.

That same month, Robinhood launched a layer-2 blockchain on Arbitrum, providing a commission-free trading platform for users in the European Union with over 200 US stock and ETF tokens.

Dune Analytics indicates that Robinhood has 943 tokenized stocks on Arbitrum, which carry an on-chain value of about $10.8 million.

RWA.xyz also reports tracking approximately $656 million in regulated tokenized public stocks, with a monthly transfer value of $1.14 billion and around 118,000 holders, with Ondo leading the market at 52%, followed by Backed Finance at 24% and Securitize at 20%.

Related: Grayscale submits confidential IPO filing with SEC

This dynamic landscape presents a transformative opportunity for the secure trading of traditional assets in a digital format.