Payward taps GTN infrastructure to expand tokenized stocks globally

Payward is partnering with traditional market infrastructure provider GTN to push its xStocks tokenized equities platform into international markets, starting with Hong Kong. The expansion marks a shift for the platform, which has until now focused primarily on tokenized U.S. shares and exchange-traded funds.

Under the agreement, GTN will supply the backend plumbing required to list foreign shares. This includes trade execution, custody, ledgering, record-keeping and sub-accounting across more than 90 global markets. By leveraging GTN’s existing network, Payward avoids the costly and complex process of building individual connectivity rails for each new region.

Following the initial Hong Kong rollout, the companies plan to introduce listings from the United Kingdom, continental Europe, South Korea and other financial centers. Payward also intends to eventually tokenize asset classes beyond equities and ETFs, pending local regulatory approvals.

The strategic rationale is to bridge the gap between conventional capital markets and blockchain networks. xStocks are backed 1:1 by underlying assets but operate on blockchains, allowing for around-the-clock trading and transferability across supported networks. Since launching, the platform has built a base of nearly 200,000 holders across more than 100 exchanges and decentralized finance applications, accumulating over $35 billion in transaction volume across more than 500 tokenized assets.

"The biggest asset class that hasn't been tokenized yet is the rest of the world," said Mark Greenberg, global head of Payward Services. He cited the friction created by varying geographic regulations, fragmented settlement systems and restricted traditional market hours as the primary barriers the partnership aims to dismantle.

The deal could also accelerate institutional adoption. Once GTN secures the necessary regulatory licenses, it plans to distribute xStocks directly to its institutional client base alongside traditional investment products.

Geographic restrictions remain a significant hurdle. xStocks are currently unavailable in several major markets, including the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. The success of the expansion will depend on whether Payward and GTN can navigate these fragmented international regulatory frameworks to deliver on their vision of a unified, global access layer for securities.