American Giants Are Building a New Onchain Financial System
Two American companies are partnering to build an onchain infrastructure that combines tokenized stocks, yield-bearing collateral, and 24/7 trading for institutional investors.
Summary:
- Payward and Franklin Templeton are creating a shared onchain infrastructure.
- Institutions will be able to use yield-generating collateral.
- The market will operate 24/7 with near-instant settlement.
What the Partnership Is Actually Building
Payward, the company behind the crypto exchange Kraken, and Franklin Templeton announced a strategic partnership on May 12, 2026, connecting Kraken’s xStocks infrastructure with Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund.
At first glance, this may look like another partnership between a crypto company and a traditional financial giant.
In reality, however, the two companies are attempting to build infrastructure that traditional financial markets still cannot fully provide.
The idea is that an institutional investor can simultaneously hold a yield-bearing asset while also using it as collateral to trade tokenized stocks in a market that never closes.
In traditional finance, collateral for stock trading is usually held in fiat currency or short-term government bonds, which generate limited yield while the capital remains locked up.
Here, the model is different.
Franklin Templeton’s BENJI fund, which manages over $1 billion in assets, generates yield while simultaneously serving as trading collateral.
This means the capital is no longer passive – it works in two directions at the same time.
xStocks Gives the Stock Market 24-Hour Access
The trading side of the structure comes from xStocks – the tokenized stock and ETF infrastructure developed through Backed Finance, which Kraken acquired in December 2025.
The system already supports more than 100 tokenized stocks and ETFs, backed 1:1 by real shares held under regulated custody.
These include companies such as Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, Tesla, and Coinbase, as well as index ETFs like SPY and QQQ.
Since 2025, xStocks has processed more than $30 billion in trading volume.
The biggest difference compared to traditional stock markets is the way the system operates.
Kraken’s institutional clients will be able to gain exposure to stocks 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with near-instant settlement instead of the traditional multi-day settlement cycle used by conventional exchanges.
In practice, this removes the time restrictions that exist in traditional capital markets.
The Regulatory Structure
One of the most important details of the entire partnership is the regulatory structure behind it.
This is not about a single license or one jurisdiction.
The system combines several regulatory frameworks simultaneously – brokerage operations, banking licenses, custody, and fund management.
BENJI is an officially registered U.S. fund managed by Franklin Templeton, not a crypto product marketed as a fund.
At the same time, Payward Digital Solutions – Kraken’s Bermuda-based division – holds a Class F license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority for digital asset operations.
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Kraken Financial also holds an SPDI banking license in Wyoming, and the company has already applied for trust company status with the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).
The combination of these structures creates regulatory coverage for nearly the entire institutional process – trading, settlement, custody, and asset management.
However, there is an important limitation.
xStocks is still unavailable to retail investors in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia due to current regulatory restrictions.
This means the infrastructure already exists, but mass adoption is still lagging behind regulation.
The Remaining Legal Uncertainty
The most important detail in the entire structure may be hidden in the fine print.
Owning a tokenized stock through xStocks does not mean direct legal ownership of the actual share.
The investor receives economic exposure to the stock’s price movement, but not the traditional rights of a shareholder.
This includes voting rights, participation in corporate decisions, or potential legal claims in extreme scenarios.
For example, if a merger, corporate split, or other major corporate event occurs, the holder has economic exposure to the event, but not direct legal shareholder status.
The same question applies in the event of bankruptcies or legal disputes.
Although the tokenized assets are backed 1:1 by real shares held in regulated custody, there is still no established legal precedent for how these assets would be treated in extreme situations.
This is where the main uncertainty for institutional investors lies.
The technological infrastructure already exists. The legal framework surrounding actual ownership rights over tokenized assets, however, is only beginning to take shape.
The information presented in this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coinspress.com does not promote or advocate for any particular investment strategy, asset, or cryptocurrency project. Cryptocurrency markets are highly volatile and unpredictable – always perform your own research and seek guidance from a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions.
Kosta Gushterov
Reporter at CoinsPress
Kosta has reported on cryptocurrency markets and blockchain infrastructure since 2020, bringing over six years of hands-on experience in the crypto industry built through daily tracking of markets, trends, and emerging blockchain developments. Specializing in Bitcoin on-chain analysis, institutional ETF flows, and digital asset price action, his work has been cited by other news agencies and consistently covers market developments with a focus on data-driven reporting across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and XRP. Over the years, Kosta has contributed to multiple crypto media outlets in different regions, authoring over 6,000 articles across the sector. His reporting spans cryptocurrency markets and the broader fintech industry, tracking not only price action but also the technological and regulatory forces shaping the ecosystem. To support his analysis, Kosta actively leverages on-chain data and metrics from leading platforms such as Santiment, Glassnode, and CryptoQuant, enabling deeper, evidence-based market insights. He believes in the power of transparency and the data that underpins the blockchain ecosystem. His academic background in Marketing Management from Denmark further complements his analytical approach, adding a strong understanding of communication strategy and content positioning to his work.
