Kraken Acquires Swiss RWA Startup Backed Finance – Expansion in Tokenization Market

Kraken Strengthens Position in RWA Segment

US-based crypto exchange Kraken has announced its acquisition of Swiss Real-World-Asset startup Backed Finance. With this move, the company continues its aggressive expansion strategy and strengthens its position in the growing market for tokenized securities^[1].

No purchase price was disclosed. However, the transaction has already been finalized, according to the official press release^[1].

Integration into Existing Infrastructure

Through the acquisition, Kraken aims to accelerate the global distribution of tokenized stocks. Backed Finance had already served as an issuance partner for Kraken's xStocks product since September. Now, issuance, trading, and settlement are to be consolidated under a single infrastructure^[1].

"The integration of Backed into Kraken strengthens the core architecture required for open and programmable capital markets," explained Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi^[1].

The xStocks product line will in the future be more deeply integrated into the Kraken ecosystem, including into the payments app Krak. Currently, approximately 60 tokenized stocks are available for trading in Europe, including shares of Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. These assets are characterized by 24/7 availability while being fully backed by the underlying assets^[1].

Impressive Growth Figures

Since launch, xStocks have achieved cumulative trading volume of approximately 10 billion US dollars. By comparison, the entire crypto exchange currently processes around 1.5 billion US dollars per day^[1].

Part of a Larger Acquisition Strategy

The acquisition of Backed Finance joins a series of acquisitions Kraken has made this year. In addition to the trading platforms Breakout and Small Exchange, particularly the multi-billion dollar acquisition of NinjaTrader made headlines^[1].

With this aggressive growth strategy, Kraken is positioning itself as one of the leading providers in the field of tokenized securities and real-world assets. Industry consolidation continues to advance, while established crypto exchanges continuously expand their business segments.

Significance for the RWA Market

The acquisition underscores the growing importance of real-world assets within the crypto ecosystem. By tokenizing traditional securities, providers like Kraken enable trading outside regular exchange hours and create new investment access opportunities for investors worldwide.

With the complete integration of Backed Finance, Kraken now has full control over the entire value chain for tokenized stocks – from issuance through trading to settlement. This could give the company a decisive competitive advantage over competitors who still depend on external partners.