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Getting Started with US Stock Token Trading: 10 Questions to Help You Understand the Mainstream Platform xStocks

ODAILY星球日报

2025-07-03 15:03

Read this article in 18 Minutes

Understanding how it works is key to uncovering arbitrage opportunities.

Original Title: "10 Questions about xStocks: What Are We Actually Trading When Trading US Stock Tokens?"

Original Author: Wenser, Odaily Planetary Daily

Following the launch of tokenized Coinbase stock in March, RWA asset issuer Backed has come up with a new move—this time choosing to collaborate with the US crypto exchange platform Kraken to launch the xStocks US stock tokenization platform. As a pioneer in the "US Stock Tokenization Market," xStocks ignited the crypto market's cooperative enthusiasm within just 2 days. In addition to Kraken, various crypto platforms and projects such as Bybit, Raydium, Solflare, Kamino, Jupiter, Chainlink, AlchemyPay have joined its alliance camp. Platforms like GMGN, Backpack have also launched some US stock token trading windows, and many believe that this move may sound the horn for the counterattack of crypto assets into the US stock market.

However, a series of questions arise as a result. Can the tokens purchased on the xStocks platform be redeemed for US stocks? How is the price anchored? What are the specific fees? Do holders of US stock tokens enjoy dividend rights or voting rights? My colleague Asher lightly speculated in some US stock tokens today via GMGN (details in "Trading US Stocks on the Chain, Day One Mentality Already Drifting"), encountering many detailed issues during the test. Although the general principle can be understood, according to discussions by the Odaily Planetary Daily journalist team, specific practical implementation still requires further verification and observation. In view of this, we have compiled a Q&A list for readers' reference, and we also welcome everyone to comment on related issues or point out any errors or omissions.

Q1: Which US stock tokens are currently supported by xStocks?

According to information on the xStocks website, the platform currently supports US stocks such as: NVIDIA, Coinbase, Circle, Berkshire Hathaway, McDonald's, Chevrolet, Apple, Amazon, Mastercard, JPMorgan Chase, Meta (formerly Facebook), Tesla, Strategy, S&P 500 Index, and 61 other US stock tokens.

Partial List of US Stock Tokens

According to their website information, compared to traditional stock brokerage firms, the US stock tokens issued by xStocks have advantages such as 24/7 trading availability (Chainlink provides price oracle support), free transferability, feeless trading (limited to Kraken channel), DeFi integration support, and ease of use.

Advantages Overview

Q2: Does the Token have a 1:1 Correspondence with the US Stocks?

According to the existing information on the platform, xStocks does indeed have a corresponding 1:1 real stock reserve, but it is mainly held in custody by some partner custodians, so the veracity of this information is still to be verified.

According to the Backed official website and the xStocks US Stock Token introduction, most of the US stock custodians include the following institutions:

· Maerki Baumann & Co. AG, a Swiss private bank specializing in investment advisory and asset management, also providing services to external asset management companies, with its headquarters in Zurich, established in 1932. In addition to traditional private banking services, Maerki Baumann also offers sustainable investment solutions, professional advice, personalized services, and indirect real estate investments. Furthermore, the company also has corresponding partnerships with the leading Swiss crypto financial services provider Bitcoin Suisse Ltd.

· InCore Bank AG, a B2B transaction bank headquartered in Zurich-Schlieren, Switzerland, focusing on traditional and digital assets, established in 2007, and regulated as a supervised bank by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

· Alpaca Securities LLC, a US brokerage firm founded in 2015, with its official X platform account being @AlpacaHQ.

As for the redemption mechanism of many US stock tokens, according to the product page information, the fund currently does not charge a management fee, which may introduce a maximum annual 0.25% management fee in the future; during buying and redemption, it is at most 0.50% of the user's investment value; the redemption amount is based on the stock's market price (reference source: Nasdaq, https://finance.yahoo.com), minus up to 0.5% investor fee (minimum $100), the amount will be adjusted due to management fees, forex hedging errors, currency conversion, etc.

Additionally, there are also crypto KOL @_FORAB who previously published an article analyzing the principle behind the circulation of xStocks coin-stocks, stating that (the tokenization of US stocks is mainly) controlled by the Swiss-based parent company, which controls the Backed Assets in Jersey. They buy stocks in the US stock market through the IBKR Prime channel under Interactive Brokers and then transfer them to an isolated account under Clearstream. Clearstream is a custodial institution under the German Stock Exchange that helps them hold these stocks. Once the above buy, transfer, and deposit operations are completed, they trigger a contract deployed on the Solana chain to carry out the minting work for the corresponding stock token, i.e., for every 1000 shares of Tesla stock bought and held, 1000 TSLAx tokens will be minted on the chain at a 1:1 ratio.

Q3: Which platforms are included in xStocks' crypto partners?

According to information released by the official xStocks and Backed Twitter accounts, its crypto partners include the following platforms and projects:

· CEX: Kraken, Bybit (Byreal), Crypto.com

· Solana Ecosystem: Raydium, Kamino, Jupiter

· Wallet: Solflare, FORDEFI

· Oracle: Chainlink

· Payment Platform: AlchemyPay

· Other Support Channels: backpack, GMGN

Official Partner Information Release

Q4: Which service providers offer the tokenization of US stocks for xStocks?

Specifically, such US stock tokens are issued on-chain by the issuer Backed, with the corresponding stock custodian being the 1 US brokerage firm and 2 Swiss companies (banks) mentioned earlier. In addition, there are also security agents and authorized participants. It is worth noting that perhaps because the US stock tokenization asset market is still in its early stages, xStocks does not currently act as a market maker.

Source: https://assets.backed.fi/legal-documentation/service-providers

Q5: Which countries and regions are excluded from xStocks and Backed platform services?

According to information provided on the Backed website, the platform does not serve high-risk jurisdictions such as Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the United States. Furthermore, it emphasizes: "Backed will not sell its tokens to US persons or sell tokens for the accounts or benefits of US persons, and tokens will not be promoted, offered, or sold to individuals in the US." It is evident that despite engaging in US stock tokenization business, they still keep a distance from the US legal system to avoid the "unregistered security" risk as seen with the past launch of the Mirror Protocol by Terra.

Q6: Does holding US stock tokens provide voting rights or dividends for the corresponding assets?

Specifically, no.

Source: https://assets.backed.fi/terms-of-service

Furthermore, the buying and selling of xStocks' US stock tokens do not require KYC. However, according to the guidance document, individual or corporate users associated with the Backed platform must complete KYC before logging in to participate in trading.

Q7: What arbitrage opportunities are available for the Crypto Native community?

Currently, aside from taking advantage of the volatility of US stocks themselves, the crypto community can also earn income through activities such as providing liquidity. Additionally, due to factors such as liquidity and "trading time gaps," price differentials between stock tokens and actual stocks are common. It is recommended to read the article "5 Arbitrage Opportunities in the World of 'Coin-Stock Parallelism,'" which discusses time zone arbitrage, cross-market arbitrage, event-driven arbitrage, and other reference points. It is worth noting that since the platforms accessing the xStocks share a common LP pool, the opportunity for price arbitrage between these platforms is relatively limited.

Q8: If liquidity remains insufficient, will xStocks introduce new liquidity mechanisms and market makers in the future?

Currently, the official team has not provided further information, and industry representatives in the crypto market hold differing views. Jupiter's co-founder siong mentioned in a post that the classic AMM is not suitable for stock tokens and that a new AMM design is needed to achieve higher liquidity. Regular trading terminals are also not suitable and may lead to issues such as market value mismatches.

Yu Xian, the founder of the security company SlowMist, also mentioned in a post that after stock tokenization, the stock market has introduced a new way of playing in the cryptocurrency world, as well as new risks. If this trend becomes popular, there will be innovation and conflict between the old and new worlds, with interactions on both sides. Regarding specific risks, personally, perhaps we can glean some insights from the "stock tokenization attempts" previously driven by platforms like Terra and FTX, including but not limited to regulatory risks, price manipulation risks, and short-term volatility risks.

Q9: Are the team members of Backed, the development company behind xStocks, the same as the Rug project DAOStack's original team?

Based on the available information, yes.

According to a previous disclosure by crypto KOL @cryptobraveHQ, the team behind xStocks is the original DAOStack team. According to information related to the Israeli development company Backed behind XStocks, its previous three co-founders Adam Levi, Yehonatan Goldman, and Roberto Isaac Klein all have a previous cryptocurrency startup experience with DAOStack, which basically stopped operating in 2020. After raising about $30 million in ICO for its token GEN, the team didn't even bother to show up for work, and they just let it go to zero after the token distribution. The DAOStack team then went on to found @xStocksFi, mainly driven by investors such as Coinbase. Information about the Backed company is also detailed on their LinkedIn profile.

For more information on this inside story, see: "Digging into xStocks Developer Backed: 'Zero to One' Team's Second Entrepreneurship, Music Livestreaming Project Growth" article.

Q10: Will Backed issue its own token?

The surge in xStocks popularity has also raised speculation in the market about whether the "behind the scenes company Backed will issue its own token." But according to official documents, there is no plan to issue a token.