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LSE and Payward move
The London Stock Exchange partnered with Payward, the parent company of Kraken, to tokenize the 100 largest LSE-listed companies on xStocks, with the first products expected within weeks after an announcement on September 1, 2026.
“On September 1, 2026 the London Stock Exchange partnered with Payward (Kraken) to tokenize the 100 largest LSE-listed companies on xStocks”
Under the agreement, each token is backed 1:1 by the underlying stock and is accessible to eligible investors in 110+ countries, while UK investors are excluded at launch.
Payward said xStocks has processed over $40 billion in trading volume, with nearly $20 billion settled onchain, and more than 200,000 holders.
The initiative is also tied to LSE’s plan to explore its Digital Securities Depository for settlement and investor protections, subject to regulatory approval for an LSE 24 listing in 2027.
LSE 24 timeline and quotes
The Financial Times, via LCX Exchange, said Payward’s chief commercial officer Mark Greenberg told the outlet that tokenized stock trading would launch on LSE’s new night-time trading venue, LSE 24, starting in 2027.
LSE 24 is described as offering 24/5 trading from Mondays to Fridays, operating from Mondays to Fridays, the company announced on July 21, and the tokenized stocks are expected to track the value of leading UK equity products.
LSE CEO Julia Hoggett said, “Tokenisation has the potential to change how investors access, and how issuers use, financial markets,” while also adding it must preserve the “trust, rights and role of regulated markets.”
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi framed the effort as making traditional and crypto markets work on the “same rails,” as the rollout begins with the xStocks rollout before any broader expansion.
Regulatory stakes and scale
The rollout is conditional on regulatory approval, with the LSE planning to list xStocks on LSE 24 in 2027 and to explore how its Digital Securities Depository can support settlement and servicing of tokenized shares.
“the number of tokenized equity holders grew by 153% to 2.45 million”
CryptoRank said UK investors will not be able to trade at launch because xStocks are currently unavailable in the country, while other coverage said the tokenized shares are available to investors across more than 110 countries but remain unavailable to UK investors.
Data provider RWA.xyz, cited by TradingView, put the value of tokenized stocks at $2.53 billion after a 15% increase in the past 30 days, and said the number of tokenized equity holders grew by 153% to 2.45 million.
Clean Clothes Campaign spokesperson Ineke Zeldenrust warned, “audits consistently miss the most dangerous conditions because they are announced in advance and rely on documents rather than worker testimony,” as European retailers face scrutiny after deadly factory coverage—though the finance reporting here centers on LSE’s tokenization plan and its regulatory path.