London Stock Exchange Launches Tokenized Equity Trading Partnership with Kraken Parent Company
The LSE is joining major traditional finance players in offering blockchain-based equity trading through a new partnership with Payward, marking a significant shift in how established financial institutions approach digital asset markets.
LSE Enters Tokenized Equities Market with Payward Partnership
The London Stock Exchange has announced plans to enter the rapidly growing tokenized securities space through a partnership with Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, according to the Financial Times. The initiative will bring blockchain-based stock trading to the LSE’s recently established night-time trading platform, set to launch in 2027. Payward’s Chief Commercial Officer Mark Greenberg confirmed to the Financial Times that the partnership will initially focus on tokenized versions of leading UK equity products, enabling investors to gain exposure to traditional stocks through digital asset infrastructure.
24/5 Trading Access Reshaping Market Hours
The tokenized stocks will trade on LSE 24, the exchange operator’s new venue designed to offer round-the-clock access to equities markets. Unlike traditional stock exchanges constrained by business hours, LSE 24 enables continuous trading from Monday through Friday, providing investors with flexibility previously unavailable in conventional equity markets. This extended trading window positions the LSE alongside other major financial institutions betting on blockchain-based securities as the future of equity markets.
Traditional Finance Giants Race Into Tokenization
The London exchange joins a growing roster of established financial infrastructure providers exploring blockchain-native trading. Nasdaq, the world’s second-largest stock exchange by capitalization, partnered with Payward earlier this year to develop transformation gateways for tokenized equities, building on regulatory filings submitted to US securities authorities in late 2025. Meanwhile, the Intercontinental Exchange invested in crypto platform OKX to bring NYSE-listed tokenized securities to its trading environment, while CME Group, the largest derivatives exchange by volume, is expanding beyond equities to offer cryptocurrency futures contracts linked to several major blockchain networks.
The Deutsche Börse demonstrated confidence in the tokenization trend with a $200 million investment in Payward itself, cementing support for infrastructure designed to bridge traditional finance and blockchain markets. Nasdaq further signaled commitment by acquiring LeveL Markets, one of America’s largest alternative trading platforms, to accelerate its capabilities in round-the-clock tokenized trading.
Explosive Growth in Blockchain-Based Securities
The market for tokenized equities is experiencing rapid expansion. The total value of tokenized stocks on blockchain networks grew 15% over the past month, reaching approximately $2.53 billion in on-chain value, according to data tracked by RWA.xyz. Even more striking, the number of individual tokenized equity holders surged 153% during the same period, approaching 2.45 million participants. This growth suggests institutional and retail investors alike are adopting blockchain-based equity exposure as an alternative to traditional brokerage accounts.
The LSE’s move reflects a fundamental shift in how the world’s largest financial institutions view decentralized technology—no longer dismissing blockchain as peripheral to finance, but rather incorporating it as core to their future market infrastructure.
Source: Financial Times, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.
Why it matters: As traditional financial giants accelerate adoption of tokenized markets and 24/5 trading infrastructure, blockchain-based financial systems move closer to mainstream acceptance—a development that creates regulatory clarity and market structure favorable to established cryptocurrencies like XRP operating in cross-border settlement applications.