The London Stock Exchange has taken a step towards tokenisation to modernise its infrastructure. The idea is to change the way UK shares are issued, traded, and settled, connecting consolidated capital markets with an open and programmable blockchain architecture 24 hours a day, while preserving shareholder rights, guarantees, and the governance standards that underpin them. To this end, London Stock Exchange has partnered with Payward, the platform that has developed the world's most traded tokenised shares framework, xStocks.
xStocks are tokenised shares that are listed with 1:1 backing. They replicate the behaviour of the underlying asset and add the advantages of blockchain: speed, programmability, and 24-hour availability. These assets can be transferred between centralised exchanges, self-custody wallets, and on-chain applications, giving their holders a utility that a share deposited with a traditional broker does not currently have.
In just over a year, xStocks has surpassed $40 billion in total trading volume, with over $20 billion settled on-chain, and already exceeds 200,000 holders. Moreover, they allow investors from around the world to gain early access to some US companies before their initial public offering through tokenised exposure, a first example of how tokenisation opens markets that have previously been closed to most.
Payward will soon tokenise the top 100 listed shares in London as xStocks, offering investors from over 110 countries direct and on-chain access to the largest British companies, with 24/7 trading and as programmable assets. For now, xStocks are not available to residents in the UK. For the listed companies there, this framework represents an additional channel for global distribution that expands their potential investor base.
Once regulatory approval is obtained, the London Stock Exchange will then start listing xStocks and supporting their trading on LSE 24, its new 24-hour trading market, expanding the range of assets as the framework continues to grow. Once operational, the universe of accepted xStocks will include tokenised shares representing assets listed in the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong, as well as other asset classes, giving LSE members access to global continuous trading markets from a regulated and familiar environment.