[Kraken to Open U.S. Stock IPO Subscriptions to Global Retail Investors via xStocks] According to The Block, Kraken's parent company Payward will launch services under its xStocks framework, allowing Kraken and partner platform users to participate in U.S. stock IPOs at the offering price and obtain on-chain tokenized shares corresponding 1:1 to the underlying stocks held by regulated custodians. Users can submit non-binding subscription intentions through partner platforms weeks before the IPO. Payward will aggregate demand and collaborate with the underwriting syndicate to allocate shares, completing pricing, allocation, and token issuance on the listing day. xStocks tokens can circulate across multiple chains such as Ethereum, Solana, and TON, and can be integrated with DeFi protocols.