Payment Expert’s Blockchain Bulletin analyses how the world of blockchain is constantly evolving and heavily impacting the payments industry, with cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and regulation revolutionising the space.
This week, tokenised stocks are surging in interest in both the US and Europe, as the Nasdaq submits an SEC filing to launch tokenised securities, while Kraken has expanded its xStocks services to Europe.
Nasdaq explores tokenised stocks
Nasdaq has filed a proposal to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to enable tokenised stock trading on its exchange.
The US exchange is exploring tokenised securities in a bid to speed up settlement times and automate processes when investors interact with tokenised versions of US listed stocks and exchange-traded products.
“Our goal is to integrate digital assets into Nasdaq’s current infrastructure and systems, which will advance financial innovation while maintaining stability, fairness, and investor protection,” said Chuck Mack, Senior VP of North America Markets at Nasdaq.
Tokenised stocks have surged in interest, with Robinhood and Bitget two of the latest financial services companies to launch their own tokenised stock product offerings this past summer.
Kraken expands xStocks to Europe
Crypto exchange Kraken announced the expansion of its tokenised stocks product xStocks in Europe.
Kraken users will be able to purchase US listed stocks on-chain directly from the Kraken app using xStocks, making more than 60 tokenised stocks available to European customers.
“Expanding xStocks to the European Union was a natural next step for Kraken, given our dedicated growth strategy and market presence here. For too long, it’s been unnecessarily challenging to gain exposure to U.S. markets, and with xStocks we’re removing many of the barriers,” said Mark Greenberg, Kraken Global Head of Consumer.”
BBVA brings Ripple onboard for crypto custody
Spanish bank BBVA continues to provide crypto services to its retail customers and businesses by adopting Ripple’s crypto custody services.
The institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure will enable BBVA to offer crypto retail services in Spain to businesses to trade and hold cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and ETH.
With a view to extend the deal to cover tokenised assets, this is the latest partnership between the two companies since Ripple provided its custody services to BBVA’s branches in Switzerland and Turkey.
CoinShares to list on Nasdaq following $1.2bn valuation
European digital asset manager CoinShares announced its intention to list on the Nasdaq following a $1.2bn valuation after entering into a definitive business combination with Vine Hill Capital Investment Corporation.
With the combination expected to close at the end of 2025, CoinShares is seeking to grow its exposure across a US digital asset market that has grown exponentially since President Trump’s second term began.
CoinShares has approximately $10bn in assets under management and is the fourth-largest manager of crypto exchange-traded products in the world.
easyJet has a Bitcoin app?
easyGroup, the parent company of easyJet and easyHotel, has launched a Bitcoin app which allows customers to earn interest and other benefits by purchasing and holding the cryptocurrency.
easyBitcoin will be initially available to US customers, with a launch in the UK coming by the end of 2025.
The company stated a key reason behind the launch of easyBitcoin was due to the surging value of Bitcoin, which has recorded all-time high valuations of $100,000-plus this year. easyGroup also found customers are warming to Bitcoin as a savings investment.
