Payward Services, which is affiliated with Kraken, has introduced a tokenized U.S. IPO program aimed at retail investors. Under the plan, Kraken users and selected members of the xStocks Alliance will be able to register interest in upcoming U.S. public offerings before trading begins, and investors who receive allocations will get tokenized shares on listing day at the IPO offer price.
Allocated shares will be backed one-for-one
Payward Services said each allocated IPO share will be backed 1:1 by the underlying stock, with the stock held in custody by a regulated entity. After final allocations are set, the shares will be converted into tokenized assets and distributed through partner exchanges. The company said the structure is intended to open a part of the IPO market that has usually been reserved for institutions and high-net-worth clients.
According to the process outlined by the company, participating platforms will begin an indication-of-interest window several weeks before a company’s public debut. During that period, customers can submit non-binding requests to buy shares within the expected pricing range. Payward Services will then aggregate demand from the participating venues and coordinate with an underwriting syndicate before allocations are finalized on the day of listing.
Exposure to new listings without a brokerage account
Payward Services said investors who receive allocations will be able to gain exposure to newly listed companies without opening accounts at traditional brokerage firms. Mark Greenberg, global head of Payward Services, said access to IPO pricing has long depended on geography and wealth. In the company’s announcement, he said a retail investor in Medellín, Madrid, or Malaysia should be able to get access to a U.S.-listed IPO through Payward Services’ xStocks infrastructure.
First tokenized IPOs expected within weeks
The company said the first tokenized IPO opportunities are expected to go live for Kraken users and other xStocks Alliance participants in the coming weeks, with more launch partners and markets expected over time. The move adds to Kraken’s recent push into regulated financial products: in late 2025, Kraken acquired Backed Finance, the operator behind xStocks, and it has also said it plans to launch regulated Bitcoin perpetual futures in the United States using infrastructure obtained through its Bitnomial acquisition.
The announcement comes as blockchain-based versions of traditional assets keep gaining traction. Bernstein Research estimated the tokenized real-world asset market has reached $51 billion after growing 42% this year. Payward Services also said xStocks handled more than $30 billion in transaction volume in its first year, including over $6 billion settled on-chain, while serving more than 125,000 holders globally.