Key Highlights
- Kraken is reportedly in the discussion to acquire Backed Finance to expand its tokenized offerings
- Backed Finance is the popular tokenization platform for real-world assets (RWAs), already turned more than 60 major U.S. company shares into tokens, including Apple and Meta
- The cryptocurrency exchange has recently filed for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) after raising $800 million
On December 2, the leading cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, announced that it is planning to acquire Backed Finance to expand its tokenization offerings.
Crypto exchange Kraken is acquiring a tokenized assets platform in a vote of confidence for stock trading tied to blockchains https://t.co/BOIDkBuvrn
— Bloomberg (@business) December 2, 2025
This acquisition will allow Kraken to offer its users investments like stocks and funds directly on the blockchain via tokenization.
The exact details of the purchase price have not been made public yet.
“Integrating Backed into Kraken strengthens the core architecture required for open and programmable capital markets. Unifying issuance, trading and settlement under one framework ensures the infrastructure for tokenized assets remains transparent, reliable and globally accessible. This is foundational work for the next era of market structure. This is bigger than giving people exposure to U.S. equities, it’s about redefining what it means to own assets in the digital era,” Kraken Co-CEO, Arjun Sethi, stated in the announcement.
Why Kraken Acquired Backed Finance?
Backed Finance creates digital tokens with the process of tokenization that represent real-world assets like stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and others.
The main product line, called xStocks, has turned more than 60 major U.S. company shares into tokens. These include tech giants like Apple and Meta. These tokens exist on blockchains such as Ethereum and can be traded at any time.
One of the biggest advantages of this tokenization process is that it allows fractional ownership. It means that investors can buy a small piece of a high-priced stock.
Kraken had already begun working with Backed earlier in 2025, which offers these tokenized stocks to customers in the European Union.
According to the report, the current market capitalization of tokenization is around $2.08 trillion in 2025, and it is expected to climb to $13.55 trillion by 2030 at a 45.46% CAGR.
By acquiring Backed’s tokenization platform, Kraken can now offer these tokenized securities alongside its hundreds of cryptocurrencies. Kraken’s CEO, Arjun Sethi, stated that the company is focused on long-term investment in this technology, not short-term excitement.
What makes this acquisition more interesting is Backed Finance’s reach in the European market. It follows the European Union’s new comprehensive crypto regulations, MiCA. Kraken has also recently secured its own MiCA license through Ireland, which means its services follow strict compliance.
While the tokenization concept is rapidly becoming popular and gaining access to Wall Street, the World Federation of Exchanges has recently raised objections over this.
“We would like to reiterate that the WFE continues to believe that tokenisation is likely a natural evolution in capital markets.1 We are pro-innovation; however, it must be done in a responsible way that does not put investors or market integrity at risk,” stated in the letter sent to the SEC.
Kraken Prepares for IPO Launch with New Acquisitions
This acquisition comes when the cryptocurrency exchange is planning to go public. Last month, the exchange filed paperwork with U.S. financial regulators for an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This filing came after the cryptocurrency exchange raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation to boost its expansion with more acquisitions.
The cryptocurrency exchange is slowly moving beyond its crypto trading services. The company recently launched the Krak Card, a debit card for users in the United Kingdom and the European Union.
This card was launched through its partnership with Mastercard, which allows users to receive 1% cashback on purchases. It can be received in Bitcoin or regular fiat currency.
“While this launch is UK and EU-specific, we have ambitions to rapidly expand this offering to U.S. Krak users, and also add more additional features that make the offering even more compelling,” an official representative of Kraken said.
The card works with a mobile app and allows users to spend directly from their cryptocurrency holdings. Kraken has also introduced features that allow users to automatically earn interest on idle funds in their accounts by connecting to secure decentralized finance protocols. The company plans to bring these cards and earning services to the United States in early 2026.
