In an interview with crypto.news, Selva Ozelli speaks with TEXITcoin founder Richard W. Wisher about the Proof-of-Work network, its Texas mining operations and how merge mining allows TXC to be mined alongside Litecoin and Dogecoin.

The discussion also covers regulation and the Texas State Securities Board case against TEXITcoin, MineTXC, Blockchain Mint and Wisher. The founder disputes the regulator’s allegations and argues that mining a Proof-of-Work commodity does not constitute a securities offering.

Tell us about your journey to establishing TEXITcoin (TXC)

I began minting coins in 2008, the same year Satoshi introduced Bitcoin. My goal was to provide money that no government can print. While gold and silver served this purpose for centuries, I wanted to bring that same security to the digital age. In 2012, I even testified before Congress to advocate for these alternative currencies. By 2017, I started laser-etching private keys onto physical coins to bridge the gap between digital assets and tangible wealth. This journey led to TEXITcoin. We built it as a Texas-rooted, Proof-of-Work network with no pre-mine and no special favors for the team. Honest money isn’t a slogan, it’s just money that has to be earned the same way for everybody who touches it, and that is the only kind of money I have ever wanted to build.

Which platforms does TXC trade on?

TXC trades on MEXC, XT.COM, BitMart, and Pionex, with wrapped TXC also available on Ethereum. We’re in discussions with a number of other exchanges right now, so this list is likely to change and grow as new partnerships come together.

Why does Texas rank at the top for crypto mining?

Texas offers a competitive energy market and a massive network of wind and solar power. You will find plenty of land here and a state government that welcomes your business. This environment allows us to build real, physical infrastructure. We mine TXC in the open, using verifiable hardware and actual electricity. Plus, you can power down quickly when the grid is busy, which helps everyone.

Of course, the process is not always easy. Miners face long waits to connect to the grid and unpredictable power prices. You will also deal with transmission limits and more oversight from officials. Despite these hurdles, Texas remains the strongest place to build.

TXC is described as using multi-level marketing to sell mining packages. What are the challenges and growth concerns for crypto mining in Texas?

TEXITcoin is a Layer 1 crypto network, meaning it operates as its own currency, much like Bitcoin. We crowdsourced our mining infrastructure, which fostered a community where people actively participate rather than just watch from the sidelines. If you value collaboration and building real connections, this project is for you. We have created something fundamentally different from traditional network marketing and the scams common in the space.

However, scaling in Texas comes with real challenges. Companies must navigate long grid wait times, volatile power prices, and high startup costs. We also address complex factors like curtailment economics, local noise concerns, and the need for complete transparency when offering products to the public. We are building a sustainable model that accounts for these realities head-on.

How does TXC rank among major crypto-mining companies operating large facilities across Texas?

Comparing TXC to public Bitcoin-mining companies is misleading. We are a Layer 1 network, not a massive mining corporation. We operate on a different scale, so measuring us by megawatts or market cap ignores our true purpose.

We focus on building real infrastructure. We recently invested $5.5 million to expand our mining sites in McKinney, Mansfield, and Conroe. That money bought hardware that performs actual work rather than chasing a leaderboard. I have no interest in claiming a rank that we have not earned. My priority is the growth, security, and utility of the TXC network. That is the only scoreboard that matters.

How do TXC merge mining and energy use work?

TXC uses Scrypt, just like Litecoin and Dogecoin. Because they share the same algorithm, one machine can secure all three networks at the same time. This is called merge mining. It is highly efficient because you do not waste computing power on redundant tasks.

However, it is important to be clear that merge mining does not make mining free. Your machines still consume real electricity. You must manage them carefully to stay profitable. Merge mining simply makes every watt of energy go further rather than make the energy costs disappear.

How is merge mining regulated at state and federal level?

Merge mining does not trigger its own specific set of regulations. Regulators are less worried about the technical labels you use, but instead are focused on your actual activities. You must still follow the rules that apply to any business. This includes things like local environmental permits, electricity market standards, and building codes. If your operations involve financial products or transactions, you must also comply with anti-money laundering, consumer protection, and other applicable laws. Ultimately, authorities judge you by what you do, not by the technology you choose to use.

How is merge mining taxed at federal and state level?

Federal law views mined digital assets as taxable income. You must report their value the moment they become usable. If you sell these assets later, any change in price results in a separate capital gain or loss.

If, like us, you mine as a business, you face additional self-employment or corporate taxes. Texas offers an advantage by having no state income tax, but your business is not exempt from other costs. You must still pay franchise, sales, property, and local taxes. Additionally, the IRS taxes rewards from every network you secure, regardless of your mining efficiency. Because tax laws are complex, please consult a professional regarding your specific business needs.

How could the Texas PUC v. Attorney General public-records case affect the mining industry?

This legal case is not about mining regulations. It is about whether the state must release private data on facility locations and power use. People often confuse these two issues, but they are separate.

If the court chooses confidentiality, it protects mining companies from security risks. This is the position held by the Public Utility Commission. However, if the court mandates disclosure, the public gains vital clarity about the demands these companies place on the Texas power grid.

It is important to note that this case does not excuse companies from complying with the rules. They must still report their data to regulators. The core disagreement is simply about who has the right to see that data. This decision is one small part of a larger debate about how Texas manages its energy grid and the public’s right to know how its power is being used.

How did the Texas Blockchain Council/EIA survey case affect the mining industry?

The 2024 EIA case demonstrates that agencies must follow the law when collecting data. The agency tried to force Bitcoin miners to complete an emergency survey without using the standard notice and comment process. A federal court stopped them with a restraining order, ultimately forcing the EIA to delete the data they had already collected.

That’s the real lesson here, government agencies cannot bypass rules to demand private information. They must follow the Paperwork Reduction Act and allow for public feedback. This decision does not mean the EIA cannot request energy data in the future. It also does not excuse miners from standard reporting requirements. Instead, it ensures that agencies follow the law instead of taking shortcuts.

TXC is a fork of Litecoin, which is a fork of Bitcoin. How does that affect TXC’s classification under Texas securities law and the SEC/CFTC interpretation issued March 17, 2026?

This is the regulatory clarity we have been waiting for. On March 17, the SEC and CFTC officially classified Litecoin as a commodity. TXC uses the exact same Proof-of-Work structure, issuance logic, and mechanics as Litecoin. The only difference is that TXC is built and mined in Texas. 

Regulators have now confirmed that protocol mining does not turn an asset into a security. Miners contribute their own computing power, which is an administrative task rather than reliance on someone else’s management. Because TXC is a permissionless network built on this established foundation, its status as a commodity is clear. Our structure matches the model that regulators just validated, proving that TXC is a commodity from the ground up.

Tell us about the TSSB case, your counterarguments and its possible industry impact.

In February 2026, the Texas State Securities Board issued an order against TEXITcoin, MineTXC, Blockchain Mint, and me. They allege that we offered unregistered investments and made misleading statements. It is important to remember that these are unproven allegations, not facts determined by a hearing.

We retained Quinn Emanuel to represent us. We have requested a formal hearing to present our defense through the proper legal channels instead of the press.

Our position remains that we believe mining a Proof-of-Work commodity is not a security. Furthermore, our mining activity and equipment are real and fully verifiable. We look forward to proving this during the legal process. Because this case is ongoing, I will not speculate on the outcome or its impact on the industry. I prefer to let the facts of the legal record speak for themselves.

Can state regulators act independently even where a token is not treated as a security federally?

States do have their own security laws and regulators. Federal rules do not automatically replace them. However, these systems are deeply connected. Texas uses the same “Howey test” as the SEC and CFTC to define a security. When federal regulators decide an asset is not a security, that logic remains relevant at the state level. It does not simply disappear at the state border.

States should certainly protect consumers and stop fraud under their own authority. But that is different from labeling a legitimate Proof-of-Work asset a “security” just because it crossed a state line.

What are your views on the CLARITY Act and promises of daily passive mining returns?

The CLARITY Act is essential for fixing market structure. It draws clear lines between the SEC and the CFTC so builders know exactly which regulator oversees their work. This transparency rewards those who follow the rules. 

In regard to the timeline, the process remains lengthy. We face a cloture vote on September 15, which requires 60 votes just to begin debate. After that, we have to navigate floor debates, amendments, and a final vote. Anyone suggesting this bill is already law is jumping to conclusions. I prefer to be honest about our progress rather than promise a result that is not yet guaranteed.

Anything else you would like to add?

Just that I’m excited for what’s ahead. We’re building real momentum right now, we’re investing in expanding our mining network, we’re pushing crypto payment adoption forward across Texas, and every day we get to bring the idea of honest money to more people who’ve never really had it explained to them properly before. That’s the work, and I’m genuinely excited to keep doing it.

How can people reach you?

You can visit our website at Texitcoin.org and keep up to date with everything we’re doing on X https://x.com/TEXITcoin.

About the Author:
Selva Ozelli Esq, CPA, is an international digital asset legal expert and author of Sustainably Investing in Digital Assets Globally and an award winning artist.  Her writings are translated into 45 languages and republished in over 200 global publications.  She is recognized as an expert media/TV commentator on global AI,  digital asset regulation, tax, and technology matters.

The Aussie enters this week with genuine hawkish backing. RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent reaffirmed that tighter policy is working as intended, with markets now pricing roughly a 70% chance of one final hike to 4.60% by early next year, even as inflation eased below forecasts last quarter. That combination of commodity strength, gold, iron ore and LNG all running above forecast, and a still-hawkish central bank has kept AUD broadly supported near multi-week highs, with all eyes now on Thursday’s July employment report.

The loonie tells an even stronger story. Canada’s economy expanded at a blistering 3.4% annualised pace in Q2, well above the Bank of Canada’s own 2.5% forecast, while July employment surged by 75,100 jobs against expectations of just 15,000, pulling unemployment down to a two-year low of 6.4%. That combination of surprising growth and labour market strength has fuelled speculation the BoC could hike if elevated energy prices persist, giving CAD real independent momentum of its own.

The result: two resource-linked currencies both riding genuinely hawkish narratives, leaving AUD/CAD’s next move to hinge on which central bank blinks first.

Technical Analysis of AUD/CAD

As the chart shows, AUD/CAD has been compressing into a symmetrical triangle since early August, with a descending trendline from the 0.9926 high converging with an ascending trendline off the 0.9748 low, both meeting right around current price near 0.9847, exactly where the 100-period EMA also sits.

Bullish Scenario

Should buyers break above the descending trendline and the 0.382 retracement near 0.9858, the path would open towards the 0 level at 0.9926, a confirmed breakout that would suggest genuine momentum returning to the pair.

Bearish Scenario

Conversely, a break below the ascending trendline and the 0.5 retracement near 0.9837 would expose the 0.618 level near 0.9816, with a deeper slide risking a retest of the 0.786 retracement around 0.9786, or even the 0.9748 low that anchored this entire structure.With price coiled right at the apex of this triangle, sitting exactly on the 100-period EMA, AUD/CAD looks primed for a decisive break, will the Aussie’s hawkish backing prove enough, or does the loonie’s stronger data ultimately win out?

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As a writer, a university professor, artist, and designer, I worry about the risk that generative AI might destroy the delightful, human experience of carrying out acts of creation, not to mention making careers in the pursuit of that creativity unviable. Whether or not AI will improve work or destroy jobs, it already distances people from some of the moment-to-moment acts that might have felt gratifying just a few years ago. If AI can write your emails, then you don’t need to feel the click of keys under your fingertips or hear the clack they produce when you type with them. If AI can generate a gift list for the holidays or a vacation plan for Spring Break, then you don’t need to swipe through catalogs or thumb through guidebooks. In this way, AI can amplify the same dematerializing effects of technology people have encountered for years.

But that’s not the whole story. As critical of AI as I sometimes am, I have also found that AI can direct people back toward the physical world and the gratifying feelings it offers. LLMs can be quite adept at helping people figure out how to plan and carry out real-world tasks, such as fixing a plumbing leak, repairing a car, or learning a new hobby.

Bitcoin BTC$64,177.56 recently traded around $64,000, pausing after a rally that saw it rise from $62,600 on Monday. The largest cryptocurrency has dropped 0.6% since midnight UTC, trailing after Nasdaq 100 index futures, which lost 1.1% as U.S. Treasury bond yields and oil prices rose.

Ether ETH$1,895.61 lost around 1% since midnight and coins including SUI, XLM and TAO also dropped.

The increase in yields reflects unease ahead of the Federal Reserve minutes release due Wednesday after two consecutive softer inflation prints. Brent crude oil rose back to $94 per barrel after a 60-day US-Iran ceasefire expired Monday without a deal.

Also on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend a meeting with crypto CEOs at the White House, with U.S. policy being a key driver of price action of late, contributing to the stop-start nature of bitcoin’s range-bound performance.

Derivatives positioning

• Taker ratio flips bullish: With BTC outperforming U.S. stocks on Monday, the long-short taker volume ratio in crypto futures flipped decisively from neutral to bullish, with longs accounting for over 51% of flow. Takers are traders who buy or sell at available prices, pulling liquidity from the order book.
• Funding rates confirm the chase for longs: BTC traders are chasing bullish bets, as evidenced by annualized perpetual funding rates surging to a 20-month high, according to data source CryptoQuant. Positive funding rates mean futures are trading at a premium to spot price, reflecting a bullish bias.
• BTC OI holds steady despite the move: Overall open interest (OI) in bitcoin futures remains near 750,000 BTC, a level it’s largely held for weeks.
• SOL sees a pickup in activity: OI in SOL futures rose to 66.88 million tokens, the most since July 10. Funding rates remain near zero.
• XLM shows a clear bearish tilt: The token has dropped nearly 3% to 15 cents since midnight, its lowest since May 27, reversing a pop to 27 cents at the end of May. Traders appear to be shorting the dip: OI in XLM futures rose 3.5% over the past 24 hours, the highest level since June 4. With annualized funding rates at -28%, that indicates a strong bearish bias. A negative 24-hour OI-adjusted cumulative volume delta (CVD) reinforces this picture, suggesting sellers are trading more aggressively via market orders rather than passive limit orders.
• Other notable OI movers: CC, DOGE and SUI are also among the notable OI gainers, though prices of all three are trading little-changed to negative. HBAR and CRO are notable OI losers.
• Bullishness looks selective, not broad-based: BTC is buoyant and showing buyer leadership, with a positive 24-hour CVD. Most of the other major cryptocurrencies, including ETH, SOL, LTC, LINK and DOGE, show negative CVD, suggesting the bullish sentiment is concentrated in BTC.
• Low volatility is inviting fresh positioning: Bitcoin and ether’s 30-day implied volatility indexes remain at the year’s lows. Trading firm TDX Strategies suggested using this low-vol environment to build tactical positioning favoring December optionality across BTC and select altcoins such as SOL and HYPE.
• Options flow leans toward upside bets: On Deribit, calls struck above BTC’s spot price continue to dominate 24-hour volume rankings. The $70,000-strike call expiring Sept. 25 is the most-traded bitcoin option of the past 24 hours. For ether, the $2,080 call expiring Aug. 28 leads.

Token talk

• PUMP rose 1.31%, holding a portion of Monday’s 7.8% surge that came alongside a 55% jump in daily trading volume to $90 million. The token has now stabilized above $0.00277.
• XMR added 0.59% since midnight to $417, taking the seven-day gain to more than 11%. The privacy coin has been one of August’s outperformers.
• SUI is the biggest laggard since midnight, sliding 4.62% to 64.36 cents, reversing a stretch of relative strength that had seen it outperform most layer-1s through late July.
• FET has shed 2.10% since midnight to 12.13 cents, extending a run of underperformance that has seen AI-adjacent tokens give back much of their late-July gains.
• LINK is down 1.45% at $9.39, retracing some of the gains that followed Standard Chartered’s prediction that called for it to rise by 2,000% by 2030. It remains up by 8% since that forecast.

BitBox has released a firmware update fixing two severe vulnerabilities that could have exposed hardware wallet users to malicious firmware or caused Bitcoin to be locked to an unintended address.

BitBox said in a security disclosure on Monday that the first vulnerability involved memory corruption affecting unconfigured Multi editions of the BitBox02 and BitBox02 Nova, while a second flaw affected the wallet maker’s Silent Payments implementation.

The company said it had found no evidence that either vulnerability had been exploited and had received no reports of users losing funds because of the flaws.

BitBox vulnerability could have allowed malicious firmware

For the first vulnerability, BitBox said a malicious host connected to an affected wallet could exploit memory corruption to execute arbitrary code before the device had been configured with a wallet.

Successful exploitation could potentially allow the host to install malicious firmware, creating a route through which funds could later be compromised, according to the company.

The exposure was limited to Multi editions of the BitBox02 and BitBox02 Nova that had not yet been set up. BitBox classified the vulnerability as severe because arbitrary code execution could undermine protections designed to prevent unauthorised software from running on the hardware wallet.

Firmware controls how a hardware wallet handles cryptographic operations, verifies transactions and communicates with a connected computer. BitBox said the vulnerability could therefore put funds at risk if an attacker managed to use the flaw to install malicious firmware on an affected device.

Similar hardware and firmware weaknesses have surfaced at other wallet makers in recent months. In June, crypto.news reported on a flaw in the TROPIC01 Secure Element used by Trezor Safe 7 devices after Ledger Donjon researchers carried out a laser fault injection attack during laboratory testing.

Trezor said its Safe 7 remained protected because the device uses three independent hardware security layers. According to the company, compromising TROPIC01 alone did not provide access to a user’s PIN, wallet or funds.

Tropic Square had provided the chip to Ledger Donjon for independent testing, with researchers notifying the company in January that they had extracted some chip secrets and bypassed firmware signature checks using the laboratory attack.

Another hardware attack disclosed in July allowed Ledger Donjon researchers to reset the password on a Tangem wallet card using a targeted laser pulse against its secure element.

Ledger Donjon said the attack required physical possession of the card, invasive preparation, specialist knowledge and laboratory equipment costing about $250,000. Tangem described the everyday risk to customers as “virtually non-existent,” while advising users to keep their wallet cards physically secure.

Silent Payments flaw could have locked Bitcoin

BitBox’s second severe vulnerability affected Silent Payments, a Bitcoin privacy feature that allows users to receive payments without publishing a new address for each transaction.

According to BitBox, a malicious host could exploit the implementation to cause Bitcoin to be locked to an unintended address.

Direct theft was not possible through the vulnerability, the company said. An attacker could instead leave the victim unable to recover the Bitcoin without cooperation and potentially demand a ransom in exchange for helping unlock the coins.

Such an attack would not automatically transfer control of the affected Bitcoin to the malicious host, but BitBox said the vulnerability could still put funds at risk by making them inaccessible to their owner.

The company addressed the problem through its latest firmware update and said it had received no reports of the Silent Payments flaw being exploited.

BitBox has dealt with other security issues through firmware updates this year. Its Oeschinen update in July included several security fixes, including one for a buffer out-of-bounds write affecting the BitBox02 firmware and bootloader.

According to the company’s disclosure at the time, a USB request accepted a length value without properly checking it against the size of the destination buffer, creating a potential route for a malicious host to trigger an out-of-bounds write.

BitBox said no working exploit had been demonstrated for that vulnerability, although an effect on control flow could not be completely ruled out.

Earlier in January, the company also patched two BitBox02 Nova vulnerabilities reported through its bug bounty programme. BitBox classified the issues as minor and moderate because exploitation required advanced physical access and applied only under specific conditions.

Coldcard firmware flaw has put wallet security under scrutiny

BitBox’s update follows the disclosure of a separate Coldcard firmware flaw linked to more than $112 million in stolen Bitcoin after the vulnerability remained undetected for more than five years.

Galaxy Research said Friday that Coldcard-related losses had exceeded $112 million, with approximately 1,778.6 BTC swept from more than 8,600 addresses.

The vulnerability was traced to a firmware change introduced in March 2021 that affected the randomness used to generate wallet seeds. Attackers could brute-force impacted seeds and derive the corresponding private keys without obtaining physical access to the hardware wallet, according to research into the incident.

A wallet seed is used to derive the private keys controlling its cryptocurrency. Weaknesses that reduce the randomness used during seed generation can therefore reduce the number of possible combinations an attacker needs to test.

For users whose wallets were created with affected Coldcard firmware, updating the device alone would not repair a seed that had already been generated with weak randomness. Moving funds to a wallet created from a newly generated secure seed would be required to remove exposure associated with the compromised seed.

The incident affected a hardware wallet line that received its first major hardware revision in several years earlier in 2026. Coinkite launched the Coldcard MK5 in March, with the device becoming the first hardware update to its flagship MK series since the MK4 arrived in 2022.

The MK5 retained the previous model’s dual secure-element architecture using chips from two different vendors and kept private keys air-gapped. Its main changes included a 1.54-inch Gorilla Glass display, redesigned physical buttons and improved NFC functions.

Coinkite said at the time that the five major MK5 upgrades focused on usability while preserving the security architecture used by the previous model.

Customer data leaks have created separate phishing risks

Hardware wallet owners have also faced security incidents outside the devices themselves, with recent breaches involving Trezor and SafePal exposing customer and order information belonging to more than 53,000 people.

Trezor attributed the exposure of information belonging to 13,689 customers to shipping provider ShipMonk. SafePal separately said an authorisation flaw in an order-tracking plug-in exposed details connected to 39,798 customers.

Neither incident compromised the companies’ hardware wallets, private keys or recovery phrases, according to the respective disclosures. Both companies warned that exposed personal and order information could instead be used for targeted phishing and impersonation attempts.

Such information can give attackers details needed to make wallet-related scams appear more credible. Earlier in February, attackers sent physical letters impersonating Trezor and Ledger and instructed recipients to complete supposed authentication or transaction checks.

The physical phishing campaign used official-looking correspondence containing QR codes that directed recipients to malicious websites. Some letters created urgency by claiming users had to complete an authentication process to avoid problems accessing their wallets.

The websites asked victims to enter 12-, 20- or 24-word recovery phrases under the pretence of verifying ownership. Once submitted, the phrases were transmitted to the attackers, allowing them to recreate the wallets and gain control over the associated funds.

Trezor and Ledger said legitimate hardware wallet providers do not ask customers to enter, scan, upload or share recovery phrases through websites or other external channels. Recovery phrases should only be entered directly on a hardware wallet when restoring a wallet, according to the companies.

Crypto exchange Kraken has launched trading in more than 7,000 U.S.-listed stocks for eligible customers across the European Economic Area, placing traditional shares alongside more than 700 tokenized xStocks and over 600 crypto assets in the same account.

The Block reported on Aug. 18 that the service has become available across the EEA after Kraken quietly began introducing stock trading to customers in Germany, the Netherlands and France in recent days.

The rollout takes Kraken’s traditional equities business outside the United States, where the exchange first entered stock trading in 2025, while giving European customers two ways to gain exposure to U.S.-listed companies through the same platform.

Kraken said eligible EEA customers can buy traditional shares or use xStocks, its blockchain-based products tied to listed equities and exchange-traded funds. Both products can be accessed without transferring funds between separate platforms.

“With U.S.-listed stocks and xStocks available side-by-side in a single regulated account, customers can choose how they access the same underlying exposure — whether through traditional shares or tokenized representation — without moving capital or changing platforms,” Mark Greenberg, chief commercial officer of Kraken parent Payward and head of Payward Services, said in a statement.

Kraken U.S. stock trading reaches eligible EEA customers

Access covers more than 7,000 traditional U.S. stocks through the desktop and mobile versions of Kraken Pro as well as the main Kraken mobile app.

Kraken said stock trades will carry no trading commission, subject to its applicable terms. Eligibility will not be automatic for every existing customer, however, as users must accept additional terms and conditions before the equities feature becomes available.

The service is being provided by Payward Europe Digital Solutions (CY) Limited, a Cyprus investment firm authorised under the European Union’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, or MiFID II.

Alongside the conventional securities offering, customers can access more than 700 xStocks and over 600 crypto assets through their Kraken accounts. The company said xStocks have processed more than $38 billion in total transaction volume since launching in June 2025.

Kraken describes the setup as distinct from European platforms that provide only one form of U.S. equity exposure. Bitpanda offers traditional U.S. stock trading, while platforms including Robinhood and Crypto.com have introduced tokenized U.S. equity products for European users.

Crypto.com, for example, recently launched tokenized stock derivatives tracking about 1,500 U.S. stocks and ETFs for eligible EEA customers and users in other approved markets. Its products provide synthetic price exposure and do not give buyers legal or beneficial ownership of the underlying securities.

xStocks have moved into more parts of Kraken’s trading system

Kraken has continued adding functions to xStocks since the products were introduced in June 2025, taking them beyond instruments used solely to track the price of conventional equities.

In July, crypto.news reported on Kraken allowing eligible users to post selected xStocks as collateral for futures and margin positions on Kraken Pro. Ten assets initially qualified, including tokenized versions of Apple, Nvidia, Tesla, Strategy, Robinhood, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF and the Invesco QQQ ETF.

Futures collateral was made available to qualifying clients outside the United States, including customers in the EEA. Margin collateral was offered outside the U.S. but excluded EEA clients.

Kraken had also developed dedicated onchain infrastructure for the product earlier in 2026. Its xStocks platform introduced xChange in March, an execution layer initially supporting more than 70 tokenized equities across Ethereum and Solana.

At that point, xStocks had generated about $25 billion in total trading volume, including $3.5 billion in onchain transactions, while more than 80,000 onchain holders had interacted with the products. Each token was described as fully collateralised and backed 1:1 by its corresponding underlying security.

Kraken’s current figures put total xStocks transaction volume above $38 billion, showing how quickly activity has increased since the March tally.

Payward is taking xStocks into more international markets

Payward has also been preparing to add equities from markets outside the United States to the xStocks system.

A July partnership with GTN set out plans to begin with Hong Kong-listed shares before adding securities from the United Kingdom, Europe, South Korea and other markets, subject to the necessary licences and regulatory approvals.

Under the agreement, GTN is providing execution, custody, ledgering and record-keeping infrastructure across more than 90 financial markets, while Payward continues to supply the tokenization infrastructure used to create the blockchain-based assets.

At the time of the July announcement, xStocks supported more than 500 tokenized assets and had generated over $37 billion in transaction volume. Payward also said GTN could eventually distribute xStocks to institutional customers once the required approvals are secured in individual markets.

The latest EEA rollout concerns conventional U.S.-listed securities alongside existing xStocks, while Kraken said it plans to take the combined traditional-stock and tokenized-equity service into additional markets over the coming months.

Tokenized equities have taken a larger share of RWA activity

The expansion comes as tokenized equities have become a larger part of the real-world asset market.

According to figures cited by The Block, tokenized equities now account for about 15% of the RWA market, around three times their share at the start of 2026. The segment has reached roughly $2.8 billion in total market capitalisation, with Ondo Finance, Binance’s bStocks and Kraken’s xStocks accounting for a combined 77%.

Kraken has also expanded what holders can do with the securities represented through xStocks. Earlier in August, the platform extended shareholder voting rights to more than 125,000 xStocks holders, allowing eligible investors to instruct the underlying custodian on how votes should be cast at company shareholder meetings.

The feature changed the original structure of xStocks, which did not provide voting rights when the products launched in June 2025. The arrangement relies on the custody structure operated by Backed Assets (JE) Limited, according to the report.

Kraken parent Payward, meanwhile, reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter, up 17% from the same period a year earlier. Adjusted EBITDA reached $23 million for the three months ended June 30.

Total platform transaction volume fell 13% year over year to $310 billion during the quarter, while Payward reported that the composition of trading activity moved toward equities and tokenized equities.