Kraken has quietly flipped the switch on U.S. equities trading for customers across the European Economic Area, putting more than 7,000 American stocks into the same accounts that already hold cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based equity products.
The rollout marks the exchange’s first international expansion of its traditional stock trading business, following its U.S. debut in 2025. Eligible users in Germany, the Netherlands, and France gained access first, with the service now live throughout the EEA.
Customers can trade conventional U.S. shares alongside more than 700 tokenized xStocks and over 600 crypto assets without moving funds between separate platforms. Access spans the desktop and mobile versions of Kraken Pro, plus the main Kraken mobile app.
The equities service operates through Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, a Cyprus investment firm authorized under the European Union’s MiFID II framework. Kraken says stock trades carry no commission, though existing customers must accept additional terms before the feature unlocks.
Mark Greenberg, chief commercial officer of Kraken parent Payward and head of Payward Services, framed the offering as a choice between traditional shares and tokenized representations within one regulated account.
Meanwhile, xStocks have processed more than $38 billion in total transaction volume since launching in June 2025. That figure has climbed rapidly from roughly $25 billion reported in March.
The combined approach sets Kraken apart from competitors. Bitpanda offers only conventional U.S. stock trading in Europe, while Robinhood and Crypto.com have introduced tokenized equity products without traditional share access. Crypto.com’s tokenized stock derivatives, for example, track about 1,500 U.S. securities but provide only synthetic price exposure with no ownership rights.
Kraken has also expanded what xStocks holders can do. Selected tokenized equities now serve as collateral for futures and margin positions on Kraken Pro. Earlier in August, the platform extended shareholder voting rights to more than 125,000 xStocks holders, allowing eligible investors to direct votes at company meetings through the underlying custodian.
Payward plans to bring the combined stock and tokenized equity service to additional markets in the coming months.
