Kraken Moves to Acquire Backed Finance in Pre-IPO Tokenization Play

Kraken is set to acquire Backed Finance as part of a major push into asset tokenization. This strategic purchase strengthens Kraken’s hold on a fast-growing niche as it prepares for an anticipated initial public offering in 2026.

Backed Finance specializes in creating on-chain tokens that represent a portfolio of roughly 71 real-world assets, primarily public company stocks and ETFs, with each token fully backed by the underlying security. RWA.xyz data shows Backed is the sector’s second-largest player for tokenized public equities, with a market share of approximately 23%.

The terms of the agreement were not made public in Kraken’s announcement.

The deal cements a partnership that has been intensifying over the last year. As the engine for Kraken’s xStocks from launch, Backed has helped generate cumulative trading volume exceeding $5 billion for these products. Kraken introduced xStocks in the US, subsequently expanded it to Europe, and added compatibility with the Tron, BNB Chain, and Solana networks.

Backed’s technology platform also serves as the base for numerous other tokenization efforts across the crypto industry. Bybit employed Backed’s services to add tokenized equities, including Nvidia and Strategy, to the on-chain environment of Mantle.