Kraken to Acquire Backed Finance for Tokenized Stock Expansion

Kraken to Acquire Backed Finance for Tokenized Stock Expansion

Kraken’s deal to purchase Backed Finance aims at global blockchain-based stock and ETF integration, leveraging xStocks’ strong trading volumes for unified issuance, trading, and settlement.

Fact Check
The assessment is based on two highly authoritative and directly relevant sources that explicitly confirm the acquisition. Bloomberg, a top-tier financial news source, and Investing.com both report the acquisition of Backed Finance by Kraken directly in their headlines and summaries. The credibility of these sources is very high, and the information is unambiguous. The remaining sources do not contradict this information. The guide from TokenMetrics simply lists the companies as separate entities, which is likely outdated information that doesn't account for recent corporate actions. The article from Cryptodnes.bg describes a prior partnership, which provides context for their business relationship but does not conflict with the more recent news of an acquisition. The final source, a Facebook post, is entirely irrelevant. Given the strength and consistency of the primary evidence from reputable financial news outlets, the statement is very likely to be true.
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Summary

According to Kraken’s official press release, the crypto exchange will acquire Switzerland’s Backed Finance AG, issuer of xStocks, to expand tokenized stock and ETF offerings. xStocks supports blockchain-based trading of over 60 U.S. stocks and ETFs, backed 1:1 by assets, and recorded $10 billion in trading volume in six months. Kraken plans to integrate issuance, trading, and settlement, aiming for global reach. This move follows previous acquisitions of NinjaTrader, Small Exchange, and Breakout as part of Kraken’s strategic growth and preparation for a public listing.

Terms & Concepts
  • Tokenized Stock: A digital token on a blockchain that represents ownership of a traditional stock or ETF.
  • ETF: An exchange-traded fund, a type of investment fund traded on stock exchanges like equities.
  • Blockchain-based Stock Trading: The buying and selling of stocks using blockchain technology for secure and transparent transactions.