Payward Adds Hong Kong, UK, South Korea to xStocks Tokenization Plan
RWA & Tokenization ·
Kraken's parent company will work with GTN to extend tokenized equity trading beyond U.S. stocks into new markets, pending regulatory sign-off in most regions.
Payward, the company behind Kraken, has struck a partnership with investment infrastructure provider GTN to broaden its xStocks tokenized equities platform beyond its current U.S. stock offering, according to a report from WuBlockchain. Hong Kong-listed shares are the first addition under the deal, with plans to bring UK, European, and South Korean equities onto the platform at a later stage.
Under the arrangement, GTN is set to handle execution, custody, and recordkeeping for the underlying securities that back each token, a structure meant to link the tokenized assets on xStocks to real shares held through GTN's infrastructure. The expansion into markets outside the U.S. remains contingent on regulatory clearance in each jurisdiction, meaning the UK, European, and South Korean rollouts are not yet finalized.
The move was also covered by Decrypt and The Block, both of which described the Hong Kong launch as the initial step in a broader international push for xStocks. A separate item from Leviathan News situates the Hong Kong development within wider coverage of activity in that market, underscoring the jurisdiction's role as the entry point for Payward's expansion.
The partnership signals an effort by Payward to widen the reach of tokenized equities beyond its initial U.S.-focused product, tying access to shares from multiple regions into a single platform backed by GTN's custody and settlement services. Four separate outlets have now reported on the tie-up, pointing to consistent details across accounts: Hong Kong as the first new market, GTN as the infrastructure partner, and the UK, Europe, and South Korea as the next targets.
What remains unclear is the timeline for regulatory approval in the UK, European, and South Korean markets, as well as which specific equities or exchanges within those regions will be included once approvals are secured. Whether GTN's custody and recordkeeping model will be replicated identically across each new jurisdiction, or adapted to local rules, has also not been detailed.