Kraken Lets Tokenized Stocks Serve as Crypto Collateral

Overview

• Kraken announced Sunday that eligible non-U.S. clients can now pledge xStocks—tokenized shares that track real equities—as collateral to open futures or margin positions.
• The initial list includes ten assets such as Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, and Invesco QQQ with usable values reduced by risk-adjusted haircuts.
• Haircuts range from about 10% for broad-market ETFs to roughly 30% for more volatile names, while per-asset caps include $1 million for broad ETFs and typically $250,000 for individual stocks.
• Regional rules differ: EEA clients can use xStocks for futures collateral, while margin collateral is available in eligible countries outside both the United States and the EEA.
• The change lets holders keep equity exposure while unlocking capital but does not remove leverage risk and could raise trading activity and liquidation risk as Kraken reviews limits over time.