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Payward plans tokenized trading for 100 London stocks

A partnership with the London Stock Exchange will list digital tracker certificates on an extended venue while domestic investors remain excluded

By Primary News Team

Paternoster Square near London Stock Exchange.
The London Stock Exchange building, where Payward is partnering to tokenize 100 London stocks. Source: Kaihsu Tai (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Published1 Sep 2026, 20:51 Last updated4 Sep 2026, 10:06 Sources
Show reference links Marks each sentence drawn from a source or a contributor

Payward is partnering with the London Stock Exchange to tokenize the 100 largest companies listed in London under its xStocks framework, creating digital certificates intended for round-the-clock trading across international markets.12

The initiative, announced on September 1, 2026, aims to make tokenized versions of British blue-chip shares available to eligible investors across more than 110 countries within weeks.23 UK investors will not be eligible to trade the tokens at launch, leaving the initial distribution focused on international markets rather than domestic equity participants.23

Under the planned arrangement, the exchange intends to list the tokenized instruments on LSE 24, an extended-hours venue designed to operate Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 7:50 a.m. with a 30-minute daily processing pause.24 The exchange listing and subsequent venue trading remain conditional on regulatory approval from relevant supervisory authorities.13

Payward plans tokenized trading for 100 London stocks
Illustration · Vecteezy

The underlying mechanics of xStocks rely on debt instruments rather than direct equity issuance.43 Jersey-based Backed Assets (JE) Limited acts as issuer, holding physical shares as collateral and issuing tracker certificates that replicate the share price on a 1:1 basis.42 Holders receive economic exposure and reinvested dividends through this custodial structure, but the certificates do not convey legal shareholder status or voting rights.43 Redemptions within the framework settle in cash or digital assets.4

The agreement between Payward and the London exchange also includes plans to study native equity tokens that would be issued directly through exchange infrastructure.24 Such instruments would share full fungibility, corporate voting rights, and legal protections with ordinary equity shares, potentially narrowing the operational layers between issuance, ownership, and secondary market settlement.25

LSE chief executive Julia Hoggett said in a statement that tokenization has the potential to alter market access, adding that any rollout must maintain the trust, rights, and role of regulated public markets.52

Payward acquired xStocks in December 2025 after the framework launched in June 2025.2 The platform has recorded more than $40 billion in cumulative trading volume across 200,000 holders, with nearly $20 billion settled directly on public blockchains.25 Payward co-chief executive Arjun Sethi said the broader opportunity is to align traditional and digital asset markets on shared settlement rails.5

Payward plans tokenized trading for 100 London stocks
Source: Theglasshammer

The overall market for tokenized equities remains modest compared with conventional global equity volumes.2 Approximately $2.53 billion in tokenized equities exists worldwide, with xStocks representing roughly $606.6 million and Ondo accounting for approximately $840.4 million.2 Payward previously partnered with GTN to expand custody and execution across 90 markets, and five xStocks products began trading against stablecoins on Deutsche Börse Group's 360X venue earlier this year.23

Trading tokenized equities outside standard exchange hours presents distinct liquidity and pricing dynamics.3 Market makers rely on alternative trading systems, index futures, and quantitative models when primary bourses are closed, creating wider bid-ask spreads until daylight arbitrage aligns trading prices with the underlying equity markets.3

Reporting note: this piece draws on coverage from Abdelaziz Fathi, Ledger Insights, and Coinpedia regarding the September 1, 2026 announcement by Payward and the London Stock Exchange.

Source: Payward via The Block, September 1, 2026.

References

This article is based on 5 sources, listed in the order they are cited.

  1. 1 T theblock.co announcement · 1 Sep 2026 Payward Plans to Tokenize 100 London-Listed Stocks Through xStocks See the source
  2. 2 F financefeeds.com third party · 1 Sep 2026 Kraken Owner to Tokenize 100 LSE Stocks - UK Locked Out See the source
  3. 3 T TradingView third party · 1 Sep 2026 London Stock Exchange Partners with Kraken Parent to Tokenize 100 UK Blue Chips See the source
  4. 4 L ledgerinsights.com third party · 1 Sep 2026 London Stock Exchange to support xStocks tokenized stock trading in Payward deal - Ledger Insights - blockchain for enterprise See the source
  5. 5 C CryptoRank third party · 1 Sep 2026 London Stock Exchange Joins Kraken to Put 100 UK Stocks on Blockchain | News | CryptoRank.io See the source