Kraken Launches Yield Vaults for Tokenized Stocks and ETFs

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has launched a new product that allows eligible users to earn yield on tokenized versions of major U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds through decentralized finance protocols. The service, called xStocks Vaults, was introduced on September 14, 2026, and initially supports three assets: tokenized shares of Nvidia (NVDAx), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPYx), and the Invesco QQQ ETF (QQQx). The vaults generate returns by using deposited tokenized assets as collateral to borrow stablecoins via the Kamino lending market on the Solana blockchain. These borrowed stablecoins are then deployed into automated DeFi strategies to produce yield. Earnings are converted back into the original xStock and automatically added to the user's vault balance. Kraken states that it does not manage the underlying strategy or control the protocols involved; the vault infrastructure is provided by Veda, and the lending strategy is designed and managed by Sentora. During the initial launch period, the estimated net annual percentage yields are 2% for SPYx and QQQx, and 1.8% for NVDAx. Kraken takes a 25% performance fee on earnings, which is already deducted from the displayed APY.