The London Stock Exchange plans to develop tokenized UK equity structures and has formed a partnership with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to explore how blockchain-based access could connect with regulated capital markets. The initiative is expected to include xStocks linked to London-listed companies, with trading on the planned LSE 24 venue targeted for 2027, subject to regulatory approval.
What Happened
The project is designed to represent publicly traded shares as digital tokens while retaining the rights, protections and governance standards associated with conventional public markets. LSEG’s Digital Securities Depository may support the issuance, transfer, settlement and servicing of the assets within a regulated infrastructure model.
Independent reporting has described the initial ambition as bringing the 100 largest LSE-listed equities onchain. The exchange’s announcement itself uses broader language, referring to UK tokenized equity structures and London-listed companies rather than confirming a final constituent list. The scope may therefore change as the design develops and regulatory reviews proceed.
Key Facts
- The partnership is with Payward, Kraken’s parent company, rather than a separately named agreement with the Kraken exchange.
- xStocks are intended to be 1:1-backed representations of publicly traded shares that can move across exchanges, wallets and onchain applications.
- The proposed LSE 24 listing and trading of xStocks is targeted for 2027 and remains subject to regulatory approval.
- LSE 24 is planned as a near-continuous Monday-to-Friday venue, not a seven-day market.
Why It Matters
Tokenization could give investors access to equity-linked products through digital wallets and blockchain applications, while allowing issuers and market operators to use programmable settlement and broader distribution. The partnership reflects a growing effort by traditional exchanges to meet investors who are accustomed to digital-asset markets operating beyond ordinary stock-market hours.
The model also draws a clear line between the proposed UK initiative and Kraken’s current xStocks offering. Kraken’s product page describes existing xStocks as 1:1-backed SPL tokens and advertises trading five days a week. It also says the product is not currently available to retail customers in the United Kingdom. The future LSE listing would therefore represent a separate, regulated-market pathway rather than immediate UK access to the existing Kraken product.
What’s Next
LSE 24 is scheduled to begin client testing by the end of 2026, with exchange-traded products planned as its first asset class in the first half of 2027. Its published operating window runs from 17:00 to 07:50, with a short overnight pause, alongside the Main Market’s regular daytime session. Approval from regulators, the final tokenized-equity structure and the list of eligible companies will determine how much of the proposal reaches investors.



