Kraken Doubles Down on DeFi Dominance: xStacks Expands to BNB Chain, Challenging Wall Street’s Legacy

Kraken just fired another shot across Wall Street's bow—its xStacks platform is now live on BNB Chain, turbocharging DeFi's takeover of traditional finance.

Why it matters: While banks still push paper, crypto's building rails for the next financial system. xStacks' multi-chain leap lets traders bypass legacy gatekeepers entirely.

The cynical take: Goldman Sachs will probably launch a 'blockchain innovation task force' to 'explore synergies' by 2026—right after retail has moved on.

Bottom line: When exchanges out-innovate institutions, the smart money follows. Even if Wall Street won't admit it yet.

Why BNB Chain could be the tipping point for tokenized stocks

The decision to bring xStocks to BNB Chain marks a strategic expansion effort by Kraken and Backed. The two firms said they selected the network for its scale and efficiency.

With roughly $10 billion in total value locked and one of the most active user bases in crypto, BNB Chain offers a critical mass of liquidity and accessibility, two ingredients essential for tokenized equities to gain traction.

Backed’s xStocks will now circulate as BEP-20 tokens, enabling seamless transfers between Kraken’s centralized platform and BNB Chain’s decentralized ecosystem. For traders, the appeal is clear: lower fees than Ethereum, faster settlement than traditional markets, and compatibility with DeFi protocols.

The goal, according to Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi, isn’t just broader distribution—it’s composability. “Expanding to BNB Chain reinforces our Core belief that tokenized equities are not just digital wrappers for traditional assets—they are a foundational upgrade to the financial system itself,” he said.

Kraken’s bet on BNB Chain also reflects a deliberate play for global reach. While the exchange initially launched over 60 tokenized stocks on Solana last month, targeting users in 140 countries, BNB Chain’s presence in emerging markets such as Southeast Asia and Latin America could open doors for retail investors with limited access to U.S. equities.

As Sarah Song, BNB Chain’s Head of Business Development, noted: “Tokenizing real-world assets on BNB Chain is a meaningful step in making global finance more accessible and transparent.” The chain’s infrastructure, including its EVM compatibility and high throughput, reduces friction for users who might otherwise face barriers with legacy systems.

Yet adoption remains an open question. On-chain data from a Dune Analytics dashboard tracked by Hashed shows just $32.8 million in xStocks trading volume to date, a modest figure, though Kraken’s internal exchange volume could significantly increase that number.

The real test will be whether these assets gain utility beyond speculative trading. Backed co-founder Adam Levi envisions xStocks becoming “the standard for tokenized equities” by integrating with lending protocols, derivatives platforms, and other DeFi primitives. If that happens, tokenized stocks could evolve from synthetic proxies into foundational financial instruments.