Kraken has introduced three vaults allowing eligible customers to earn estimated net annual percentage yields of up to 2% on tokenised versions of Nvidia shares and two US-listed exchange-traded funds.
Customers can deposit SPYx, QQQx or NVDAx and receive rewards in the same token. Kraken currently displays estimated net APYs of 2% for SPYx and QQQx, and 1.8% for NVDAx. The rates are variable, based on the previous seven days and affected by stablecoin borrowing demand.
SPYx tracks the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, QQQx follows the Invesco QQQ Trust and NVDAx represents exposure to Nvidia shares. Kraken charges a 25% performance fee, already included in the published APYs. It says there are no additional platform or Ink network gas fees for deposits or withdrawals.
Returns accrue continuously and are automatically converted into the deposited xStock, then reinvested. Customers do not need to claim or redeploy rewards manually.
The strategy uses decentralised finance (DeFi) and leverage. Deposited assets are transferred to an embedded self-custody wallet on Ink, Kraken’s Ethereum layer-2 network, wrapped for vault accounting and moved through Veda infrastructure. Sentora, which designed the strategy and manages its risk, transfers the wrapped token to Solana, where it is used as collateral in the Kamino lending market to borrow stablecoins.
Those stablecoins are allocated to selected DeFi strategies, with proceeds converted back into SPYx, QQQx or NVDAx. Kraken provides access but does not manage the strategy or control the protocols receiving the assets. Veda administers the vault infrastructure, while Sentora oversees risk.
Customers do not need to create an external wallet or store a mnemonic phrase. Kraken generates the embedded wallet after a user’s first DeFi Earn allocation, although its private key can be exported through Earn settings. The exchange warns that exporting it is permanent.
Withdrawals can be requested at any time, but the xStock may take three days to reach a customer’s Kraken balance. Further delays are possible if demand is high or liquidity is limited. Rewards generally continue during the waiting period.
Kraken warns that the leveraged structure can increase losses as well as returns. A sharp fall in SPYx, QQQx or NVDAx, or heavy withdrawal demand during a period of limited liquidity, could trigger rapid position closures. Liquidation losses, bad debt and severe market movements are shared proportionally among users of an affected vault.
The company also lists smart contract, cross-chain, stablecoin, custodian, liquidity and bad debt risks. Transfers between Ink and Solana could be delayed, while bugs or exploits in audited protocols remain possible. Customers may lose some or all of their deposit; neither principal nor rewards are insured or guaranteed by a bank or government protection programme.
Token holders receive price exposure but not voting rights, dividends or a legal claim against the represented company or fund. Kraken says tax treatment also differs from owning the underlying security through a broker.
xStocks launched in June 2025 for eligible non-US customers. The vaults are available in the European Economic Area and other supported jurisdictions, excluding the United Arab Emirates. Residents of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as sanctioned countries, are excluded. Kraken says its xStocks were not registered with local securities regulators.
