xStocks

xStocks is a tokenized-equities framework that lets non-US investors buy, trade, and use US stocks and ETFs directly on-chain. Launched June 30, 2025, by Backed Finance AG — a Swiss-regulated real-world asset (RWA) issuer — xStocks issues each token at 1:1 parity to a real share held in regulated custody. The project runs primarily on Solana, where it holds roughly 84% of total tokenized equity supply as of mid-2026, and has expanded to Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Mantle, TON, and Ink.

How It Works

xStocks follows a three-step custody-and-mint model. Backed purchases actual shares through traditional brokers and deposits them in segregated sub-accounts at licensed custodians: Maerki Baumann and InCore Bank in Switzerland, and Alpaca Securities in the United States, with no commingling across products. Each physical share then backs exactly one SPL token minted on Solana (or the equivalent token on other supported chains). One NVDAx always corresponds to one Nvidia share in custody.

Corporate actions, including dividend payments, are automatically reinvested into token balances rather than distributed as cash. Price feeds are delivered by Chainlink, which also publishes Proof of Reserve data on a weekly basis, independently verified by The Network Firm.

Solana Token Extensions

On Solana, xStocks uses the Token Extensions standard (Token-2022), which provides compliance and programmability features beyond standard SPL tokens. Active extensions include Metadata Pointer (enabling wallets to display native ticker and price data), Scaled UI Amount Config (for handling corporate actions such as stock splits), Pausable Config (emergency circuit-breaker), Permanent Delegate (regulatory asset seizure capability), Transfer Hook (compliance logic executed on every transfer), and Confidential Balances. This combination lets xStocks satisfy regulatory requirements while remaining composable with DeFi protocols.

Asset Coverage

The platform launched with over 55 tokenized stocks and ETFs in June 2025 and had expanded to more than 715 assets by mid-2026, including major equities (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, Meta, Amazon, Circle) and ETFs tracking the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and various leveraged strategies. Tickers follow a consistent naming convention: the underlying symbol plus a lowercase "x" — TSLAx, NVDAx, AAPLx, SPYx, CRCLx.

DeFi Integrations on Solana

Solana is xStocks' primary DeFi venue. Raydium serves as the principal AMM, accumulating over $3 billion in cumulative tokenized equity volume by late June 2026. Jupiter aggregates liquidity and routes trades across venues. Kamino Finance accepts xStock tokens as collateral, enabling holders to borrow stablecoins against stock positions or execute leveraged yield strategies. Orca provides additional AMM depth. Phantom and Solflare display native tickers and market data directly from token metadata.

On the centralized side, xStocks is listed on Kraken, Bybit, Gate.io, MEXC, and OKX — which launched 40+ tokenized stock pairs in July 2026. Hyperliquid integration went live in August 2026. The xStocks Alliance is a partner consortium encompassing exchanges, wallets, and protocols working toward ecosystem-wide liquidity aggregation.

Reserves and Audits

Reserve verification uses quarterly ISAE 3000 assurance audits conducted by The Network Firm alongside weekly on-chain Proof of Reserve publications via Chainlink. This provides a public, machine-readable backing trail. As of mid-2026, no public smart contract audits from major security firms have been published — a gap that represents the most significant known security risk for on-chain holdings, given the scale of assets under management.

Regulatory Structure

xStocks operates under a multi-jurisdictional legal framework. Backed Finance AG is registered in Switzerland under the DLT Act. Backed Assets (JE) Limited, the token issuer, is registered with the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) under COBO and CGPO consents. A Liechtenstein prospectus regulated by the FMA governs certain distribution channels. Retail distribution runs through Payward Digital Solutions Ltd. (Bermuda) and Payward Europe Digital Solutions (Cyprus) — Kraken's licensed subsidiaries.

The platform is available in 110+ countries. Access is restricted for residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and sanctioned jurisdictions. All end users must complete KYC through a participating platform before trading.

Team and Funding

Backed Finance was founded by Adam Levi (PhD), Yehonatan Goldman, and Roberto Klein — three veterans of DAOstack. The company raised a $9.5 million Series A led by Gnosis, with additional participation from Exor Seeds, Cyber Fund, and Blockchain Founders Fund.

Traction and Solana Ecosystem Fit

xStocks is the dominant tokenized equity provider on Solana. As of mid-2026 the project accounts for approximately 84% of all tokenized equity supply on the network, with the remainder split across Ondo, Backpack, PreStocks, and smaller issuers. Solana itself captured an estimated 95-97% of all global spot DEX volume for tokenized equities in Q2 2026, recording $5.8 billion for the quarter — a 114% increase over Q1 and a new all-time high for the category. Raydium crossed $3 billion in cumulative tokenized equity volume; the single-day record hit $644 million on June 24, 2026. Cumulative transaction volume across centralized and decentralized venues surpassed $35 billion as of mid-2026.

Solana's appeal for the xStocks use case comes from throughput and cost profile: fast settlement and sub-cent transaction fees make fractional equity trading economically viable for retail users globally. Token Extensions provide the compliance primitives — pause, delegate, transfer hooks — that a regulated issuer requires, without sacrificing DeFi composability. The result is a product with 1:1 custody-backed collateral, Chainlink-verified reserves, and native integration into the deepest Solana liquidity venues — a combination not currently matched at the same depth on any other chain.