Kraken’s xStocks Brings Tokenized U.S. Equities to TON via Telegram

The integration of xStocks into the TON ecosystem, specifically via Telegram’s Wallet, represents a significant technical and strategic advancement. According to the press release, this development delivers “real, tangible financial utility to everyday users” and is positioned to “cement TON as the leading blockchain for bringing regulated assets onchain.” TON Foundation President and CEO, Max Crown, framed the launch as a breakthrough that accelerates the path toward “mainstream, borderless finance.” The initiative builds on Telegram Wallet’s initial foray into offering stocks and ETFs in late October, which reportedly garnered significant user interest despite limited geographic availability.

For the end-user, the value proposition is clear: seamless access. Kraken’s co-CEO, Arjun Sethi, emphasized that for the first time, millions can gain on-chain access to U.S. equities inside Telegram “with the same ease as sending a message.” This eliminates traditional gatekeepers, offering instant, global access. The platform supports not only individual stocks but also a range of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), providing a diversified on-ramp to traditional markets within a familiar social and communications interface.

Since its launch in late June through a partnership with Backed Finance, xStocks has demonstrated remarkable growth. The platform is already operational on the Ethereum and Solana blockchains, making TON its third major network deployment. This multichain strategy is central to its mission of offering global accessibility and interoperability for tokenized assets. The platform’s traction is quantifiable: it has amassed more than $180 million in on-chain assets and serves almost 50,000 unique wallet addresses. The expansion onto TON, with its deep integration into Telegram’s massive user ecosystem, is poised to significantly accelerate these growth metrics.

Concurrently, Kraken is working to consolidate its position in the tokenization space by moving to acquire Backed Finance. This acquisition aims to unify the issuance, trading, and settlement of tokenized equities directly on the xStocks platform. It signals Kraken’s commitment to controlling more of the vertical stack in tokenized real-world assets, ensuring a smoother, more integrated experience as part of the exchange’s broader expansion plans in the evolving digital asset landscape.

The launch of tokenized U.S. equities on TON via Telegram is more than a product update; it’s a validation of the tokenization thesis. As Arjun Sethi stated, “This is the real promise of tokenization.” The movement of financial assets onto open, neutral networks transforms them into composable building blocks that can be integrated into a wider array of decentralized finance (DeFi) applications and services. This event blurs the lines between centralized traditional finance (TradFi) and the decentralized crypto ecosystem, bringing regulated assets like blue-chip stocks directly into the realm of self-custody and peer-to-peer transfer.

The strategic alignment is powerful: Kraken provides the regulated trading infrastructure and asset tokenization expertise, Backed Finance (pending acquisition) offers the issuance framework, TON provides a high-performance blockchain, and Telegram delivers a massive, engaged global user base. This convergence creates a formidable channel for driving real-world asset adoption. As these regulated assets become more accessible and liquid on-chain, they pave the way for a more inclusive and efficient global financial system, moving decisively beyond speculation toward tangible financial utility.