Kraken Co-CEO Says Tokenized Equities Adoption Will Take 5-10 Years; xStocks Settles $5B

According to Arjun Sethi, Kraken co-CEO, speaking at Consensus 2026, tokenized equities adoption among major U.S. financial institutions will unfold over 5 to 10 years rather than months. Kraken's xStocks product has settled $5 billion worth of value onchain since launching in June 2025.

Sethi noted that clearer U.S. regulations on tokenized equities are unlikely to rapidly change how institutions operate. "I don't think it's going to open the floodgates the way people think," he said. Current demand is primarily coming from fintech firms outside the U.S., particularly in Mexico, Brazil, Africa, and Southeast Asia.