LSE to tokenize top 100 UK stocks with Payward's xStocks

The London Stock Exchange will bring shares of its 100 largest listed companies onto Payward's xStocks tokenization framework, with the first batch of U.K. equities set to become available in the coming weeks and trading on the exchange's planned 24-hour venue targeted for 2027.

"Tokenization must develop in a way that preserves the trust, rights and role of regulated markets," Julia Hoggett, chief executive of LSE plc and head of digital and securities markets at LSEG, said in a statement Tuesday.

Each xStock is backed one-to-one by the underlying security and can trade around the clock through supported centralized exchanges, move into self-custody wallets and interact with compatible onchain applications. The framework has generated more than $40 billion in cumulative transaction volume, with nearly $20 billion settled onchain and more than 200,000 holders, according to Payward. The planned London rollout would give eligible investors across more than 110 countries access to tokenized versions of U.K.-listed companies, though xStocks are not currently available to investors based in the United Kingdom.

Subject to regulatory approval, the London Stock Exchange plans to list xStocks and support their trading on LSE 24, its recently announced round-the-clock venue expected to eventually cover tokenized equities from the U.S., European Union, U.K. and Hong Kong. A separate part of the partnership would explore natively LSE-issued equity tokens, fully fungible with traditional shares and carrying the same rights, moving issuance itself onto blockchain infrastructure.

xStocks volume tops $40 billion

The agreement extends Payward's push beyond its original focus on U.S.-listed companies. In July, Payward partnered with financial infrastructure provider GTN to expand xStocks internationally, beginning with Hong Kong-listed shares before targeting the U.K., Europe, South Korea and other approved markets across GTN's execution and custody network spanning more than 90 markets. By Aug. 18, xStocks had processed more than $38 billion in total volume as Kraken rolled out 7,000 U.S. stocks to eligible customers across the European Economic Area, pairing conventional shares with more than 700 xStocks and over 600 crypto assets within the same regulated account.

RWA.xyz data shows roughly $2.53 billion worth of tokenized equities in existence, with xStocks accounting for about $606.6 million — the second-largest issuer after Ondo at approximately $840.4 million.

"For years, the assumption was that crypto and traditional finance were on a collision course, and one of them would have to lose. That was never the real story," Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of Payward, said.

The deal is the first to pair Payward's tokenization framework directly with a major exchange's own regulated settlement infrastructure, rather than layering it on top of existing market access. Payward and the LSE have not provided a specific launch date for the first U.K.-listed xStocks beyond the coming weeks, nor a timetable for natively issued LSE equity tokens. London Stock Exchange Group shares fell roughly 2% in early London trading Tuesday.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.