Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, plans to allow retail investors to participate in U.S.-listed initial public offerings at the IPO price through its tokenized equities infrastructure, xStocks.

The move builds on Kraken’s expansion into tokenized equities. In February this year, the company said its xStocks ecosystem had surpassed $25 billion in transaction volume in under eight months, with more than $3.5 billion settled on-chain and over 80,000 holders participating.

Payward Opens Retail IPO Access

Customers of selected xStocks Alliance members, including Kraken, will be able to express interest in upcoming U.S. IPOs before companies begin public trading. Eligible investors who receive allocations will get tokenized equity at the offering price on listing day.

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Under Payward's process, partner platforms will open an indication-of-interest window ahead of an IPO, allowing customers to submit non-binding orders within the issuer’s indicated price range. Payward said it will aggregate demand across xStocks Alliance members and work with underwriting syndicates to secure allocations.

Once the IPO is completed, allocated shares will be tokenized and distributed to eligible investors through participating platforms. Each tokenized equity will be backed one-to-one by the underlying share held in custody by a regulated entity, according to the company.

Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, said retail investors have historically faced barriers to IPO participation, with access often limited by "geography and net worth."

NEW: @Krakenfx parent @Payward will offer retail investors access to U.S. IPOs at the offering price through its @xStocksFi tokenized equities platform. pic.twitter.com/frlyUo4hgi

— CoinDesk (@CoinDesk) June 3, 2026

Crypto Firms Race Tokenization Expansion

The offering is built on xStocks, Payward’s tokenized equities Equities Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Equities can be characterized as stocks or shares in a company that investors can buy or sell. When you buy a stock, you are in essence buying an equity, becoming a partial owner of shares in a specific company or fund.However, equities do not pay a fixed interest rate, and as such are not considered guaranteed income. As such, equity markets are often associated with risk.When a company issues bonds, it’s taking loans from buyers. When a company offers shares, on the other hand, it’s selling pa Read this Term framework. The company said the tokens are backed by underlying shares and can be used across participating platforms within the alliance.

Payward said the framework has processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume, including over $6 billion settled on-chain, and has reached more than 125,000 holders globally.

The company did not disclose which IPOs will be included in the initial rollout or identify participating underwriting firms.

The first tokenized IPO allocations through the xStocks framework are expected in the coming weeks for Kraken customers and other xStocks Alliance members. Payward said it plans to expand the service to additional markets and partners over time.

The announcement comes as competition in tokenized securities increases, with crypto firms expanding efforts to bring traditional assets such as stocks, ETFs, and other real-world instruments onto blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned). In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data, making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamp Read this Term infrastructure.