London's 100 Biggest Stocks Head Onchain, but Not for UK Investors Yet

London Stock Exchange partners Payward to tokenise its top stocks

The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Payward, the owner of crypto exchange Kraken, will bring the 100 largest London-listed companies onchain. The two firms announced the partnership on Tuesday. Over the coming weeks, those shares will become available as xStocks, one-to-one-backed tokenised versions of the underlying stock. The tokens can trade 24 hours a day on centralised exchanges, in self-custody wallets and across onchain applications.

Payward co-chief executive Arjun Sethi framed the deal as a convergence of two systems rather than a contest between them.

"For years the assumption was that crypto and traditional finance were on a collision course, and one of them would have to lose. That was never the real story.", 1 September 2026. — Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO, Payward

xStocks framework has processed more than $40 billion in trades

The partnership extends a framework that has scaled quickly. In little more than a year, xStocks have generated more than $40 billion in total trading volume, Payward said. Nearly $20 billion of that settled onchain, and the products now have more than 200,000 holders. The move reflects a broader shift toward tokenising real-world assets such as equities, bonds and commodities. The products issue blockchain-based versions of those assets that can trade more easily than the underlying instruments.

Tokenised UK shares will reach investors in 110 countries

The agreement means UK-listed shares can reach investors in more than 110 countries through blockchain rails. The tokens are not currently available to UK-based investors. A share in a traditional brokerage account settles during exchange hours and clears through intermediaries over several days. Its tokenised version can move instantly into a self-custodied wallet while tracking the same underlying price.

UK companies gain a new global distribution channel

For UK-listed companies, the framework creates an additional global distribution channel. It expands the potential investor base and extends access to their shares through tokenisation. The first London-listed xStocks will be available on Kraken and other xStocks Alliance platforms. The rollout targets eligible investors across those markets, the companies said.

LSE plans to list xStocks on its LSE 24 venue

Subject to regulatory approval, the LSE plans to list xStocks and support their trading on LSE 24, its recently announced 24-hour venue, from 2027. The venue is intended to span tokenised equities from the US, EU, UK and Hong Kong. The London Stock Exchange is also assessing how its digital securities depository could support settlement, subject to regulatory approval. The two firms also plan to explore natively LSE-issued equity tokens. Those would let members issue and service shares onchain with the same rights and full fungibility as traditional stock. The companies described the announcement as the first step in a wider effort to modernise how UK equities are issued, traded and settled.

LSE plc chief executive Julia Hoggett framed the plan more cautiously.

"Tokenisation has the potential to change how investors access, and how issuers use, financial markets, but it must develop in a way that preserves the trust, rights and role of regulated markets.", 1 September 2026. — Julia Hoggett, CEO of LSE plc, LSEG

Solana network underpins the tokenised equities framework

The xStocks framework runs on the Solana network. SOL, the network's token, traded at $101.87 at the time of publication, down 0.8% over the past 24 hours (CoinPaprika, 1 September 2026). SOL held a market value of about $59.6 billion (CoinPaprika, 1 September 2026).

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