Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said it has agreed to buy tokenization specialist Backed Finance as cryptocurrency companies bring more and more real-world assets onto the chain in a market projected to be worth trillions of dollars in less than 10 years.
Kraken plans to add the Swiss-based company’s tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its trading platform, it said in a Tuesday press release. He did not disclose the terms of the agreement.
The exchange has been on an acquisition spree as it prepares to go public. Earlier this year, it bought US futures platform NinjaTrader for $1.5 billion, US-licensed derivatives trading venue Small Exchange for $100 million, and proprietary trading company Breakout. Last month, Kraken raised $800 million in a fundraising round with participation from Citadel Securities, valuing the company at $20 billion.
“The integration of Backed into Kraken strengthens the core architecture required for open, programmable capital markets,” Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi said in the statement. “Unifying issuance, trading and settlement under one framework ensures that the infrastructure for tokenized assets remains transparent, trustworthy and globally accessible.”
The two introduced xStocks, a tokenized stock offering in June. Since then, xStocks has issued more than $170 million in stock tokens and recorded $2.3 billion in on-chain trading volume, according to a Dune dashboard.
The purchase fits into a broader tokenization trend as crypto companies and traditional asset managers migrate real-world assets like bonds, stocks and funds to blockchain rails. In doing so, they seek operational efficiencies, faster settlements, round-the-clock transactions and broader distribution, advocates say. The market will be worth $18 trillion by 2033, according to a report from Ripple and BCG.
