Kraken's parent company Payward has shifted its stance on tokenized equities and voting rights.
Regulation & Gov ·
Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, has reversed its prior stance on tokenized equity holders' voting rights. The company now grants proxy voting rights to holders of xStocks, its tokenized equity product, marking a shift in policy on how it treats digital representations of company shares.
The change enables xStocks token holders to participate in shareholder voting on corporate matters, a capability the company had previously withheld. This adjustment reflects evolving approaches to governance within tokenized assets and how traditional shareholder rights integrate with blockchain-based ownership structures.
The scope of the policy change—such as which voting matters are covered, how voting is executed, or whether all xStocks holders qualify equally—remains unclear from available information. The practical impact on Payward's governance and xStocks' utility in the market has not been detailed.