Kraken's recent listing of Real World Assets (RWAs) tokens has been a notable trend in the crypto market. According to data from CoinGecko, nearly half of Kraken's new spot listings between January and April 2026 were related to RWAs or xStocks. This represents a significant shift towards tokenized stocks.
The surge in RWA listings is largely attributed to Kraken's acquisition deal with Backed Finance in December 2025. Backed Finance is the issuer behind xStocks, which are tokenized equities backed by underlying stocks and ETFs. This move allows users to trade these assets on Kraken.
Despite the increase in RWA listings, trading volumes remain low. However, some RWAs have shown promising performance, with two xStocks, INTCx and AZNx, making it into Kraken's top 15 best-performing spot assets. These tokens returned more than 100% in the first four months of 2026.