- At the beginning of February, Deutsche Börse began trading so-called xStocks, which offer 1:1 exposure to real stocks and ETFs, via the 360X platform. The first tradable stocks include Tesla, Nvidia, Alphabet and the SPY ETF.
- The securities are fully secured by the shares associated with them and are held in an insolvency-protected custody structure. The offer combines TradFi mechanisms with blockchain technology and is aimed at institutions.
Die Introducing xStocks is the first noticeable result of the cooperation between the Deutsche Börse Group and the US crypto exchange Kraken, which was announced as early as 2025. The US provider contributes its technological expertise and the tokenization standard on which the xStocks are based.
Kraken also brings its trading, custody and settlement infrastructure. There is a connection to the FX platform 360T, which is operated by Deutsche Börse group and Commerzbank. In addition, Kraken Embed will be used for institutional crypto access, and Eurex derivatives on digital assets will be available as soon as the necessary approvals are received.
24/7 trading instead of stock exchange opening hours
A central feature of tokenized shares is not apparent at first glance. While traditional stock exchanges have fixed opening hours, xStocks can be traded around the clock.
This creates more flexible risk management for investors, especially in phases of high volatility and during market-moving events outside of regular trading hours. At the same time, pricing remains closely linked to the associated stocks. Deutsche Börse will thus become one of the first large market infrastructure operators to transfer tokenized securities into a traditionally regulated environment.
Importance for the DACH region
The development is particularly relevant for the DACH region. Deutsche Börse is traditionally considered conservative and security-oriented. The fact that it is now actively engaging in tokenization gives the financial product a reputation among institutions that it did not have before.
For the first time, banks, asset managers and fintechs will have access to a standardized, regulated tokenization product that can be easily integrated into existing processes. The partnership with Kraken also shows that established players are increasingly relying on specialized crypto infrastructure to open up new digital business models.
For the crypto market, it is a further step towards mainstream adoption and a clear signal that tokenized securities can play a central role in the global financial system in the future.
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