Kraken has launched xStocks vaults, a product that enables clients to earn additional onchain yield on tokenized stocks SPYx, QQQx, and NVDAx.
The digital asset platform announced that, from launch day, clients can allocate SPYx, QQQx, and NVDAx to xStocks vaults through both the Kraken and Kraken Pro interfaces. The vaults generate yield from onchain lending protocols, with returns paid in-kind and increasing continuously as balances grow within the vaults clients allocate to. Deposits start from less than one USD, and withdrawal requests are processed within three days.
Extension of existing DeFi infrastructure
xStocks vaults operate on the same infrastructure that underpins Kraken DeFi Earn, a programme that has passed 800 million USD in deposits since its launch in January 2026. By extending this architecture to tokenized equities, Kraken is applying an approach already used for Bitcoin and stablecoin balances to a new asset class. The vault infrastructure is powered by Veda, while strategy design and risk curation are handled by Sentora.
Once clients allocate xStocks through the Kraken interfaces, Veda's vault infrastructure deploys the assets directly into decentralized finance markets, including Kamino on Solana. Sentora's risk mitigation tools and onchain strategy framework are used to generate yield, with exposure limits set in advance and risk models tracking collateral, liquidity, and oracle conditions. Assets are held in self-custodial wallets, and since the vaults run onchain, customers can monitor their allocations at any time.
Darius Tabatabai, Head of Kraken Pro, said clients already earn dividend yield on select xStocks, and that the new vaults add a further onchain yield layer without requiring clients to alter their existing equity exposure.
Sun Raghupathi, CEO & Co-Founder of Veda, noted that the integration allows tokenized equities to move beyond replicating traditional market exposure, towards making those holdings more productive, without clients having to navigate decentralised finance directly.
Market context and availability
Tokenized equities have primarily been positioned as a faster route to trading stocks; Kraken's launch frames them additionally as a yield-generating asset class. xStocks, powered by Payward's digital asset infrastructure, launched in June 2025 and has since grown to support billions of dollars in transaction volume across multiple blockchain ecosystems.
xStocks vaults are available to eligible Kraken clients in the EEA and the rest of the world, excluding the UAE, the UK, the US, Canada, and Australia.
