Kraken has launched trading in more than 7,000 US-listed stocks for eligible customers across the European Economic Area under its MiFID II authorization.
The offering is available on desktop and mobile through Kraken Pro and the Kraken mobile app, with commission-free trading for eligible customers. However, spreads and foreign-exchange costs may still apply. The launch gives users access to traditional US equities alongside more than 600 crypto assets on the same platform.
The rollout also puts tokenized equities alongside traditional shares. Kraken says customers can hold US stocks and more than 700 xStocks in the same regulated account, with the tokenized products backed 1:1 by underlying shares. xStocks can be transferred to self-custody wallets and traded outside regular stock-market hours.
Kraken said xStocks have recorded more than $38 billion in transaction volume since launch, while its European investment services are provided through its Cyprus-based MiFID-authorized entity.
7,000+ US stocks are now available to EEA users in the Kraken app 🇪🇺
Invest in stocks, tokenized equities, and crypto all in one platform.
Explore stocks ⤵️https://t.co/0BVtXJ2tf1 pic.twitter.com/ApYmHxNzOF
— Kraken (@krakenfx) August 18, 2026
European investors are still buying so much US equity exposure
Kraken is entering a market where demand for US stocks remains substantial, even as European investors have recently shown a stronger appetite for local assets. European-listed ETFs attracted €47.3 billion in July alone, with €34.2 billion going into equity products, while global and US large-cap strategies remained among the strongest areas of demand.
Euro-area investors have quadrupled their holdings of US equities over the past decade, according to the European Central Bank, while their total equity holdings have doubled.
That suggests Kraken is trying to capture an existing pool of investors who already want exposure to US companies but may prefer to manage that exposure through a platform that also handles crypto.
READ ALSO: Global RWA Regulation Splits Into Two Tracks as Tokenized Markets Expand
Could tokenized stocks make trading hours less relevant?
Tokenized equities remain small compared with conventional stock markets, but the numbers are growing. RWA.xyz currently puts the value of tokenized stocks at about $2.34 billion, with xStocks accounting for roughly $508 million and 631 tokenized assets on its platform as of July 31.
If investors can trade blockchain-based versions of stocks outside regular market hours, they would have more flexibility to react to news and manage their positions without waiting for the market to reopen. Over time, that could make the idea of fixed stock-market hours feel less relevant.
That creates a different proposition from simply adding another stock-trading feature to a crypto exchange. Traditional US equities operate within fixed exchange hours and conventional settlement infrastructure. At the same time, tokenized versions can move on blockchain networks and, depending on the product and venue, trade outside those hours. The important question is whether investors actually value that flexibility enough to move meaningful capital into tokenized formats.
Kraken’s decision to put both products beside each other suggests the company is betting that investors will eventually care less about whether an asset is a stock or a token and more about how easily they can access and use the exposure. Meanwhile, Kraken parent Payward has agreed to acquire Hong Kong-based Reap Technologies for $600 million in a cash-and-stock deal.
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