Kraken has started accepting a selection of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as collateral for futures and margin trading, marking a significant step in the evolution of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization. The feature is available only to eligible clients outside the United States, with futures collateral support in the European Economic Area and margin collateral in other qualifying jurisdictions.
The eligible assets now include tokenized shares of Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, and Strategy, as well as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and the Invesco QQQ Trust. By pledging these tokenized securities, users can maintain equity exposure while unlocking capital for leveraged crypto positions without having to sell the underlying assets. Kraken will apply collateral haircuts to manage risk: broad-market ETFs receive a 10% haircut, while higher-volatility assets like Strategy and Robinhood carry a 30% discount. The exchange also imposes per-asset collateral caps, with broad-market ETFs limited to $1 million in collateral value, most individual stocks capped at $250,000, and tokenized gold and Circle shares limited to $100,000. These parameters will be reviewed periodically.
The launch is part of a wider strategic push to integrate tokenized RWAs into usable trading infrastructure. Kraken recently partnered with Maple to create an on-chain warehouse financing facility for institutional crypto lending, and the collateral feature follows similar moves by other major players. Franklin Templeton and Binance have already enabled institutions to use tokenized money market fund shares as trading collateral, and BlackRock’s tokenized U.S. Treasury fund (BUIDL) is accepted on Binance, Crypto.com, and Deribit. The total value of tokenized RWAs (excluding stablecoins) has reached $32.6 billion, with tokenized stocks alone climbing to roughly $1.96 billion, up from $381 million a year earlier.
Kraken’s move does not eliminate leverage risks. If the value of pledged equities drops significantly, traders may face margin calls or liquidation. However, the change does not increase cryptocurrency supply; it only improves capital efficiency by letting existing holdings work harder. By turning tokenized stocks into active collateral, Kraken reinforces the trend of blending traditional finance with crypto market infrastructure.
