xStocks, the tokenized equity platform by Payward (Kraken’s parent company), has announced a native deployment on Monad, bringing more than 1,100 tokenized US stocks and ETFs onto the high-throughput EVM chain.
Val Gui of xStocks made the announcement on stage at Monad’s Open conference in Singapore on October 6, 2026.
The move marks a significant step in the race to capture RWA liquidity on next-generation blockchains.
What xStocks’ Native Launch on Monad Actually Means
The announcement goes beyond a simple bridge integration. Native issuance means xStocks tokens will be minted and settled directly on Monad.
That opens the door for DEXs, lending markets, and wallets on the chain to route equity exposure without relying solely on cross-chain bridges.
Val Gui called the move “just the beginning,” adding that the possibilities on Monad are “open as the chain builds infrastructure for the next generation of finance.” xStocks followed up on X, confirming, “We’re bringing tokenized stonks to Monad.”
For context, xStocks issues 1:1-backed tokenized US equities and ETFs that are transferable and DeFi-composable.
They are available across 110+ countries, tradable 24/7, and accessible fractionally from $1. The xStocks product, built by Backed Finance, has already surpassed $25 billion in transaction volume and lists over 1,100 stocks and ETFs on its platform.
Monad already appears among supported chains on the xStocks site alongside Ethereum, Solana, BNB Chain, Mantle, and Arbitrum.
So the Singapore stage moment is the formal native push, not a first rumor.
Monad’s mainnet launch went live in late November 2025, backed by a Paradigm-backed $225 million raise and a Coinbase token sale that made Monad the platform’s first project.
Since then, the chain’s TVL crossed $400 million, supported by deep stablecoin liquidity, the precise foundation xStocks needs for smooth equity mint-and-redeem operations.
The chain has also sharpened its security posture and expanded its tooling base. Monad’s acquisition of developer tooling project Ponder shows it is building for the long term, not just riding the RWA wave.
The Investor Angle: RWA Collateral, TradFi Rails, and What Comes Next
This deployment lands as Aave governance already discusses an Aave V4 deployment on Monad built around a tokenized-equities hub, SPYx, QQQx, NVDAx, TSLAx, and USDC/USDT0 as cash equivalents.
That proposal treats xStocks liquidity and weekend mint/redeem limits as core risk points. A native xStocks Monad deployment directly addresses those depth concerns. It also raises the ceiling for DeFi TVL on the chain.
The broader TradFi convergence matters here. Nasdaq’s investment in Payward, a $100 million stake that values Payward at $21 billion, signals institutional confidence in the tokenized equity stack.
Payward and Ledger’s partnership now enables hardware custody for tokenized stocks, letting users hold xStocks in cold storage.
Meanwhile, Kraken offers unified stock and xStocks trading across the EEA, over 7,000 US stocks and 700+ xStocks in a single regulated account. Each layer tightens the rails between TradFi instruments and on-chain infrastructure.
There are risks investors should keep in mind. Tokenized equities do not confer voting rights. Mint and redeem pauses when underlying markets are closed, which creates weekend price gaps.
Eligibility is geo-restricted. MON also faces scheduled token unlocks later in 2026, a supply overhang the market has already priced in.
Until live contract addresses are published, the 1,100-ticker figure should be attributed to the stage announcement alone.
That said, where tokenized stocks trade has until now been dominated by centralised exchanges. A native, DeFi-composable launch on a high-throughput L1 shifts that dynamic.
Combined with the ecosystem’s stablecoin base and the Aave V4 proposal, the xStocks announcement positions Monad’s MON price as a direct beneficiary of rising RWA-driven TVL.
