Kraken Pro Enables xStocks as Collateral for Futures and Margin Trading

Kraken Kraken Pro has activated a collateral feature that lets holders of ten xStocks — the Solana-based tokenized equities issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited — post their positions as margin without selling them. The eligible tokens cover major equity indices and individual companies: SPYx (S&P 500), QQQx (Nasdaq-100), NVDAx (Nvidia), AAPLx (Apple), TSLAx (Tesla), GOOGLx (Alphabet), GLDx (gold), CRCLx (Circle Internet Group), MSTRx (Strategy), and HOODx (Robinhood).

The feature operates inside a single unified account. Eligible balances are automatically held as collateral while positions remain open, allowing traders to maintain equity exposure while opening leveraged crypto or xStocks derivatives positions alongside it.

How the Collateral System Works

xStocks AAPLx$326.07-2.8% xStocks margin on Kraken Pro runs on a pair-based model: positions trade against USD, and the maximum leverage available is 3x. Borrowed funds draw from Kraken's PDSL margin pools, with fees accruing every four hours on outstanding borrowed amounts. The system applies automated initial and maintenance margin requirements, real-time liquidation logic, and pool-level exposure caps.

The xStocks perps product, which Kraken launched in February 2026, offers separate leverage of up to 20x on perpetual futures contracts tracking the same underlying assets. The perps and the new collateral-posting feature operate within the same unified wallet framework, so traders can share collateral across xStocks margin positions and traditional crypto derivatives simultaneously.

xStocks: Backed Finance Tokens on Solana

xStocks are issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited, a Jersey-based entity. Alpaca Securities LLC, a FINRA-regulated and SIPC-member broker-dealer, acts as primary custodian for the underlying shares, with InCore Bank as secondary custodian. The tokens settle on Solana's network and are also bridged to Ethereum, TON, and Ink. Backed Finance, the infrastructure company behind the product, was acquired by Kraken ahead of the February 2026 xStocks perps launch.

The collateral feature is a further step in building out xStocks' utility beyond spot trading. Earlier this month, xStocks officially endorsed NestUSD, the first DeFi borrowing protocol on tokenized equities, allowing holders to mint nUSD stablecoins against positions including SPYx and TSLAx. The Kraken Pro integration extends similar borrow-against-equity logic to a centralized exchange derivatives context.

Geographic Restrictions: Not Available to US Persons or Canada, UK, Australia

The service is not available to US persons, nor to clients in Canada, the United Kingdom, or Australia. Kraken Pro's xStocks products operate through Payward Digital Solutions Ltd., licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority, and are accessible to eligible non-US clients in 110+ countries.

Like other collateral posted on Kraken's futures platform, xStocks balances may be subject to margin haircuts when calculating total margin, per Kraken's published collateral currency framework.

RWA Utility Expanding on Solana

The ability to post tokenized equities as derivatives margin represents a utility layer that spot holders of xStocks on Solana could not access previously. Until now, the primary use cases for holding SPYx or similar tokens on-chain were spot trading on DEXs, DeFi lending protocols, and price exposure outside traditional market hours.

SPYx, the S&P 500 tokenized equity and the largest xStocks token by market cap, had 26,155 holders on Solana as of June 30, with a market cap of approximately $71.5M. A Kraken hot wallet appears among the top five holders by balance, consistent with the exchange's custody role for customer xStocks positions.

Solana's tokenized equity market has moved quickly this month. Raydium's cumulative xStocks DEX volume crossed $3 billion on June 27, with the final billion added in a single month. Tokenized assets surpassed memecoins in share of Solana daily spot volume for the first time on June 23, with daily equity volume hitting a $644M all-time high on June 24.

Adding derivatives collateral utility to the existing spot and DeFi borrowing use cases gives xStocks holders a broader set of reasons to keep positions open rather than liquidating for margin elsewhere.

xStocks are not available to US persons or residents of Canada, the UK, or Australia. Trading tokenized assets and derivatives involves risk, including the risk of total loss.