Geneva, Switzerland, August 27, 2025 – TRON DAO, the community-governed decentralized autonomous organization dedicated to advancing internet decentralization through blockchain technology and decentralized applications (dApps), has announced a strategic collaboration with Kraken, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, and Backed, a Swiss-based issuer of tokenized assets. This partnership aims to integrate xStocks, the industry-standard tokenized equities platform, with the TRON blockchain, significantly enhancing access to tokenized U.S. equities for users, including those in the United Kingdom.
Bridging Traditional Finance and Blockchain
The collaboration, announced on August 20, 2025, marks a significant milestone in bridging traditional financial markets with blockchain technology. xStocks, launched by Backed in partnership with Kraken, enables users to trade tokenized shares of major U.S. companies, such as Apple, Tesla, and Nvidia, directly on-chain as TRC-20 tokens. Each xStock is fully backed 1:1 by the corresponding underlying equity, ensuring transparency and compliance. This integration leverages TRON’s high-throughput, low-cost infrastructure, making it an ideal platform for tokenized equities trading.
TRON’s scalable network, known for processing billions in daily stablecoin transfers (primarily USDT, with over $82 billion in circulating supply), provides a robust foundation for xStocks. As of August 2025, TRON boasts over 324 million user accounts, 11 billion transactions, and $26 billion in total value locked (TVL), according to TRONSCAN. This scale and efficiency make it a natural fit for expanding access to tokenized assets, particularly in regions like the UK, where demand for innovative financial products is growing.
Enhancing Accessibility for UK Investors
The integration of xStocks with the TRON blockchain allows Kraken clients in eligible jurisdictions, including the UK, to deposit and withdraw tokenized equities seamlessly, similar to transferring stablecoins. This move aligns with Kraken’s recent expansion in the European Economic Area (EEA), where it operates under a MiCA license, offering over 450 assets and OTC trading across 30 countries, including the UK.
“TRON’s decentralized network brings tokenized equities into a more open, transparent, and accessible environment,” said Justin Sun, Founder of TRON. “This collaboration represents a natural evolution for crypto, bridging traditional markets with blockchain. As demand for popular equities meets a global base of previously excluded users, we’ll see a more efficient, flexible, and accessible market.”
Arjun Sethi, Kraken’s co-CEO, emphasized the rapid expansion of xStocks: “Expanding xStocks to three blockchains in under 60 days shows what’s possible when you design for openness from the start. TRON’s scale, low fees, and global reach make it a strong addition to our multi-chain architecture for tokenized equities.”
A Step Toward Financial Inclusion
This partnership is a significant step toward democratizing access to global markets, particularly for UK investors who may face barriers to traditional brokerage accounts. By leveraging TRON’s infrastructure, xStocks offers 24/7 trading and integration with decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols, enabling fractional ownership and reducing intermediaries. The initiative aligns with TRON DAO’s mission to make financial systems more transparent, efficient, and equitable.
Backed, founded in 2021, plays a critical role in ensuring xStocks are compliant and fully collateralized, minting them as TRC-20 tokens for seamless integration with TRON’s ecosystem. Since its launch on June 1, 2025, xStocks has seen rapid adoption, with combined centralized and decentralized trading volumes surpassing $2.5 billion.
Implications for the UK Market
The UK, with its robust financial sector and growing interest in blockchain-based solutions, stands to benefit significantly from this collaboration. While xStocks are not available to U.S. persons due to geographic restrictions, UK investors can access these tokenized assets, providing exposure to U.S. capital markets with lower costs and greater flexibility. The partnership also positions TRON as a key player in the real-world asset (RWA) tokenization space, which has grown to a $26.4 billion market by July 2025, according to RWA.xyz.
TRON DAO’s collaboration with Kraken and Backed is expected to boost the utility and liquidity of TRON’s native token, TRX, while driving transaction volumes for xStocks. The integration also complements TRON’s recent ecosystem developments, such as its MetaMask integration, further enhancing its appeal to UK-based developers and investors.
Looking Ahead
As part of this collaboration, TRON DAO will work closely with its ecosystem partners to integrate xStocks across a wide range of applications, further expanding its reach. Kraken and Backed plan to continue deploying xStocks on additional high-performance blockchains, ensuring broader access for global investors.
This initiative underscores the growing trend of real-world asset tokenization, with TRON, Kraken, and Backed at the forefront of redefining market accessibility. For UK investors, this partnership offers a unique opportunity to engage with tokenized U.S. equities in a blockchain-native format, paving the way for a more inclusive and efficient financial future.
