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Ledger partners with Payward to enable cold storage for tokenized stocks
The hardware wallet maker is integrating with Kraken's parent company to let xStocks users sign transactions and store tokenized equities offline.
Ledger, the French hardware wallet maker best known for keeping Bitcoin safe on thumb-drive-sized devices, is expanding into a different asset class entirely. The company has partnered with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, to bring cold storage security to tokenized equities traded on Kraken’s xStocks platform.
The integration means Ledger device owners will be able to sign xStocks transactions directly on Kraken’s platform, keeping their private keys offline while trading tokenized versions of real stocks.
What the partnership actually does
Ledger’s Device Management Kit will handle funding and withdrawals for xStocks, with Clear Signing support baked in. Clear Signing lets users verify exactly what they’re approving on their Ledger screen before confirming a transaction.
The xStocks platform itself offers tokenized versions of US and international equities, each backed 1:1 by tracker certificates issued by Backed Assets (JE) Limited. These tokens are pegged to real equity value, though with limited redeemability for the underlying assets.
Trading is available 24/5 for most assets, with select tokens offering 24/7 availability depending on the underlying stock.
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$42 billion and counting
The scale of xStocks is worth pausing on. The platform has surpassed $42 billion in cumulative transaction volume.
As of September 1, 2026, Kraken added tokenized versions of the top 100 London-listed companies to its xStocks lineup, broadening the product’s geographic reach beyond US equities.
Ledger has signaled plans to deepen its integrations with Payward beyond this initial rollout, with a particular focus on institutional clients.
Why tokenized stocks need better security infrastructure
Self-custody through hardware wallets offers a fundamentally different security model. Your keys never touch the internet. A hacker would need physical access to your device and your PIN to authorize a transaction.
There’s also the jurisdictional wrinkle. xStocks availability is restricted by geography, with US and UK residents facing limitations on access.