Kraken parent Payward plans to offer tokenized IPO access as investors await blockbuster debuts

• Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, plans to let retail investors buy into U.S.-listed IPOs at the same offering price as institutional investors through tokenized shares.
• Under the xStocks framework, IPO allocations will be aggregated across participating platforms, with tokenized shares backed one-for-one by underlying stock held by a regulated custodian.
• The initiative aims to use blockchain-based tokenization to broaden access to capital markets.

Kraken's parent company is bringing one of Wall Street's most coveted opportunities to crypto investors: buying into IPOs at the same price as institutional investors.

Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange, said Wednesday it will "soon" allow customers of Kraken and other members of its xStocks Alliance to participate in U.S.-listed initial public offerings through tokenized shares. The offering would give eligible investors a chance to receive allocations at the IPO price rather than purchasing shares after trading begins on public markets.

The first tokenized IPO offerings are expected to become available through Kraken and other xStocks Alliance members in the coming weeks, the firm said.

The launch comes as investors await a new crop of high-profile public offerings. SpaceX and AI startups Anthropic and OpenAI are among the companies widely viewed as potential IPO candidates in the coming months, fueling demand for access to deals that have traditionally been dominated by institutional investors, private banks and wealthy clients.

Under Payward's model, investors would submit non-binding indications of interest before an IPO. The company would aggregate demand across participating exchanges and work with underwriting syndicates to secure allocations. Once a company lists, shares would be tokenized, backed one-for-one by the underlying stock held by a regulated custodian and distributed to investors through participating platforms.

The initiative is part of a broader push to use blockchain technology to expand access to capital markets.

Tokenization — the process of creating blockchain-based representations of traditional assets — has become one of the fastest-growing areas of digital assets. The sector has expanded beyond cryptocurrencies into Treasury funds, private credit, money-market products and, increasingly, equities.

Supporters argue tokenization can make assets easier to access, transfer and trade across jurisdictions. For equities, the technology could help remove some of the geographic and brokerage barriers that have historically limited access to IPOs and foreign-listed stocks.

Still, pre-IPO investing carries risks. IPO allocations are often oversubscribed and not guaranteed, offering prices can change during the book-building process and newly listed stocks frequently experience sharp price swings once public trading begins.

The firm will only offer IPOs where it has secured allocations for investors, a Payward spokesperson told CoinDesk.

Payward said its xStocks framework currently supports tokenized equities backed one-for-one by underlying shares held in custody. The company said the framework has processed more than $30 billion in transaction volume and over $6 billion in onchain settlements across more than 125,000 holders.

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