Kraken's tokenized US equities go live on Solana for global users
Kraken has announced the phased rollout of tokenized U.S. equities for eligible non-U.S. users, a major initiative aimed at democratizing access to global financial markets.
The initiative leverages Backed's xStocks. They will be issued on the Solana blockchain, offering 60 tokenized assets (comprising top U.S. stocks and ETFs) that are available for 24/7 trading directly from the Krak app.
The tokenized equities provide way more than just exposure to the traditional markets. You can withdraw xStocks to self-custodial wallets, use xStocks as collateral in DeFi, and trade them 24/7—all of which make it fundamentally more flexible than the traditional equivalent."For the first time, people all over the world can own and use a share of a tokenized stock like they would use money," said Kraken co-CEO Arjun Sethi.
"This is not about novelty—it's about shifting power back to individuals and removing barriers long imposed by geography or institutional gatekeepers."
Adam Levi, co-founder of Backed, stated that tokenized equities represent the next stage of crypto evolution, creating a genuine intersection between traditional finance and a decentralized economy.
"This is about access, efficiency, and composability on a global scale."
The SPL-based tokens represent the first step of a broader rollout, with Kraken and Backed announcing plans to expand to other fast blockchains soon. The launch reforms access to capital markets, allowing them to be non-permissioned, open, and self-custodial.
Kraken's tokenized US equities go live on Solana for global users first appeared on TheStreet on Jul 1, 2025
This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Union leaders said the move could backfire, causing some staff to leave the district rather than go through the reapplication process or have to move into a classroom. Despite the cuts, Cassellius' budget shows an overall expansion of the Office of Academics by about 22 positions. The additions include about 10 teachers for English language learners and 40 positions to support a rising number of students with disabilities who need special education services and physical assistance. Cassellius said those staff would each be based full time in a specific school. Responding to the deterioration of hazardous lead-based paint in MPS schools, Cassellius plans to spend about $19 million on lead stabilization over the next school year, drawing from a trust fund for facilities projects. Most of it will cover short-term expenses of cleaning up paint problems, while about $3 million will be an ongoing annual expenditure for 21 new MPS staff members who will address future paint deterioration. The budget shows cuts in other areas, including a reduction of about 45 paraprofessional classroom aides, out of a total of about 1,365 paraprofessionals. MPS budget director Nick Sinram said those cuts were likely due to principals making individual decisions for their schools to spend the money elsewhere, possibly choosing to cut paraprofessional positions that hadn't been filled in order to retain teachers. The budget plan also cuts 19 safety assistants, keeping about 266 on staff. Sinram said the district has been holding those positions vacant because it planned to transition the funding for those positions over to paying for its state-mandated school resource officers — budgeted at $775,000. Cassellius is also restructuring administrative roles: trading regional superintendents and instructional leadership directors out for a new superintendent team structured by grade levels and a group of new operational managers. Cassellius is adding leadership positions, including a new chief who will oversee a new Office of Families, Communities and Partnerships. She is also splitting one chief role, the current chief of school administration, into two: a chief operations officer and a chief schools officer. Her plan also includes two deputy superintendents and two new legal advisers. MPS' budget is buoyed by a referendum approved by voters last spring. That allowed the district to bring in an additional $140 million in tax revenue for this school year, and another $51 million on top of that for the next school year. However, the referendum was never expected to fill the district's entire budget hole, which is on a losing course because of a declining student population, stagnant state funding, a lack of special education funding and rising costs. Because of these rising costs, including a 2.95% cost-of-living raise for staff, MPS would run a deficit if it continued paying for the same services it does now, even with the additional referendum funding, according to district officials. They estimated the district will need to make cuts of about $145 million by 2030. The district could face more budget pain depending on federal cuts. MPS' budget plan for the upcoming school year includes an $11 million reduction in federal aids because of certain grants expiring and an "expectation that budget cutting in Washington may diminish future grant opportunities," according to a report by the Wisconsin Policy Forum. The hit could be worse in future years if there are cuts to Title I, a major source of federal funding that supports students from lower-income families. Cassellius has said district officials will need to make hard decisions, including closing and merging under-enrolled schools. The district is paying a consultant to guide community discussions on creating a new long-term facilities plan for the district, including potential school closures. Cassellius also said she ultimately wants to end the district's practice of anticipating that hundreds of staff positions will go unfilled. MPS plans to save about $76 million from vacancies this upcoming school year — a savings that will narrow in future years if Cassellius succeeds in filling more of the district's vacancies. Cassellius is seeking feedback on all district issues from MPS families, staff and community members at a series of listening sessions this summer. Register at Contact Rory Linnane at Follow her on X at @RoryLinnane. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: MPS school board approves $1.5 billion budget for 2025-26 school year
