Payward Services, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken and developer of the xStocks tokenized equities framework, is set to offer retail investors access to U.S.-listed initial public offerings at the IPO price. According to reports from The Block, the launch is expected in the coming weeks when customers of Kraken and select xStocks partners will be able to register interest in a U.S.-listed IPO before the company goes public, then receive an allocation of tokenized shares at the IPO price on listing day. The initiative comes as investors await high-profile public offerings from companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI, which are widely viewed as potential IPO candidates in the coming months. As reported by CoinDesk, Payward will launch tokenized IPO access for U.S. retail investors via Kraken and xStocks Alliance members in the coming weeks.
IPO access at the offering price is typically reserved for institutional investors, private banking clients, and select platforms with established underwriter relationships. As reported by The Block, retail investors in some countries don't have any option to participate, and in others, they can only buy after stocks begin trading on the open market. This often leaves them unable to participate until after trading begins, when prices may already have moved above IPO levels. Mark Greenberg, Global Head of Payward Services, stated that "for decades, getting in at the IPO price has been a privilege of geography and net worth" and that retail investors in Medellín, Madrid, or Malaysia can now have similar access to a U.S.-listed IPO. The move represents a significant shift in capital markets accessibility, bringing Wall Street's most coveted opportunities to crypto investors. According to CoinDesk, demand for access to high-profile stock market debuts is rising as a new wave of potential listings draws attention from retail traders.
According to the latest announcement, partner exchanges open an "indication of interest" window for users in the weeks leading up to each public listing, where customers can submit non-binding offers to buy within the company's indicated price range. Payward then aggregates that demand and works with an underwriting syndicate on behalf of xStocks partners. Allocations are finalized at listing day, and shares are tokenized, backed 1:1 by the underlying stock, held in custody by a regulated entity, then distributed to eligible users via their exchange. The firm will only offer IPOs where it has secured allocations for investors, as confirmed by a Payward spokesperson to CoinDesk. After a company lists, the shares are tokenized and backed one-for-one by the underlying stock held by a regulated custodian, then distributed to investors through participating platforms. A Payward spokesperson tells CoinDesk the firm will only offer IPOs where it has secured allocations for investors.
xStocks, originally developed by Backed Finance before the company was acquired by Payward, handles the tokenization process and has emerged as a leading avenue for tokenized equities. As reported by The Block, xStocks tokens are blockchain agnostic and interoperable across chains, including Ethereum, Solana, and TON, and are composable with DeFi protocols. The platform has surpassed ₹2,500 crore in total transaction volume, with more than ₹500 crore settled onchain, across more than 125,000 unique holders. According to CoinDesk, the xStocks framework currently supports tokenized equities backed 1:1 by underlying shares held in custody and has processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume and over $6 billion in onchain settlements. xStocks are currently unavailable in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, according to Kraken's product page. Since launching in June 2025, xStocks is powering billions of dollars in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems and anchors a rapidly expanding global network shaping the future of tokenized markets.
According to Payward's statement shared with The Block, the company plans to expand the offering to additional markets and add more xStocks Alliance partners in the months ahead. The initiative represents a significant expansion of xStocks from secondary-market stock tokens into primary issuance use cases. For xStocks Alliance partners, IPO access represents a significant step-change in what a crypto exchange can offer its customer base. Participation in highly anticipated public offerings, at the offering price, through a compliant and seamless process, is the kind of product that drives user acquisition, deepens engagement, and positions a platform as a serious venue for equity investment beyond crypto trading. The first tokenized IPOs powered by Payward Services' xStocks framework will be available in the coming weeks to customers of Kraken and other xStocks Alliance members. The move is part of a broader push to use blockchain technology to expand access to capital markets, with tokenization becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of digital assets expanding beyond cryptocurrencies into Treasury funds, private credit, money-market products, and increasingly, equities.
