Investing in US stocks" is no longer a high-threshold game. In July 2025, Gate Exchange officially launched the xStocks US stock trading area, allowing users to directly purchase tokenized US stocks with USDT.24⁄7All-weather trading and fractional share investing.
xStocks, issued by the Swiss compliant platform Backed Finance, transforms popular US stocks like Apple and Tesla into on-chain tokens with a 1:1 asset collateralization, allowing crypto users to hold exposure to US stocks without the need for a traditional brokerage account.
What is xStocks?
xStocks is an innovative financial product launched by the Swiss compliant asset tokenization platform Backed Finance, which essentially converts traditional publicly listed company stocks into tradeable tokens on the blockchain.
Its core mechanism lies in: Backed Finance purchases real stocks (such as Tesla) in the US stock market through Interactive Brokers and deposits them in a segregated account at Clearstream Banking. Then in Solana Mint the corresponding number of tokens on the blockchain (e.g., 1000 shares of Tesla correspond to 1000 TSLAx).
Each xStocks token is fully backed by 1:1 physical stocks, with assets held in custody by regulated third-party institutions such as InCore Bank in Switzerland, and has an EU-approved ISIN number.
Compared to directly holding stocks, xStocks do not include shareholder voting rights and do not directly distribute cash dividends (dividends are issued in the form of token airdrops), mainly providing returns from market value fluctuations.
The three core features of xStocks
24/7 Trading, Breaking the Limitations of Time and Space
Traditional US stock trading is limited to the trading hours of the New York Stock Exchange from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM (Eastern Time). In contrast, xStocks enables 24/7 uninterrupted trading with settlement speeds reaching sub-second confirmations on the Solana chain.
Fragmented investment lowers the threshold
Traditional brokers require the purchase of whole shares, while xStocks supports a fractional coin mechanism starting from $10.
Users do not need to invest tens of thousands of dollars to buy 1 share of Tesla (TSLA); they can hold TSLAx tokens for any amount, making it possible for small investments to participate in the US stock market.
On-chain Free Flow and DeFi Integration
xStocks tokens are issued under the SPL standard on the Solana public chain, can be freely stored in self-custody wallets, and support cross-platform transfers.
Users can integrate TSLAx tokens into DeFi protocols such as Kamino Finance and Raydium, forming liquidity pools or using them as collateral to borrow USDC, achieving asset interoperability that traditional stocks cannot reach.
TSLAx: The on-chain embodiment of Tesla stock
In the xStocks system, TSLAx is the tokenized representation of Tesla Inc. stock, with each TSLAx token corresponding to the value performance of 1 share of Tesla common stock.
Its price is pegged to the real-time quotes of Tesla stocks on the Nasdaq, but as an on-chain asset, it has three main characteristics:
- No shareholder rights: Holders do not have voting rights at Tesla shareholder meetings.
- Dividend Handling: If Tesla issues dividends, Backed will sell the corresponding value of the dividends and airdrop it to token holders in USDC.
- Trading Flexibility: Supports leveraged contracts, short selling, and fragmented trading.
Currently, TSLax has been launched on major exchanges such as Gate, Bybit, and Kraken, and can be traded through decentralized aggregators like Jupiter.
Practical Guide to Buying TSLAx on Gate
Gate is the world’s first platform to simultaneously launch spot and perpetual contract trading for xStocks, offering a dedicated Alpha high-frequency trading channel. Here are the specific steps to purchase TSLAx:
Account Preparation
Register a Gate account (official website link) and deposit USDT into your Gate spot account. You can obtain it by purchasing with a bank card, transferring from other exchanges, or exchanging on the Gate P2P market.
Positioning the Trading Market
After logging in, go to the [Trading] page and select the xStocks section from the top navigation bar.
Enter "TSLA" or "TSLAx" in the search box, and the system will display the trading pairs: TSLAx/USDT (spot) or TSLAx perpetual contract.
Professional traders can switch to the Gate Alpha section for a lower slippage TSLAx trading environment.
Execute Buy Operation
On the right side of the trading interface in the order area:
- Select "Limit Order" or "Market Order"
- Enter the purchase quantity (e.g., 0.5 TSLAx represents half a share of Tesla)
- Set the price (the limit order needs to specify, the market order trades at the best available price)
- Click "Buy TSLAx"
After the transaction, the tokens will be deposited into the spot wallet.
On-chain Transfers and Management (Optional)
To withdraw TSLAx to an external wallet:
- Go to 【Assets】 - 【Spot】 - 【Withdraw】
- Select the SOL network (TSLAx is issued based on Solana)
- Enter the self-custody wallet address (such as Phantom)
- Complete the transfer after paying the miner’s fee.
Advantages and Risk Warnings of xStocks
Core Advantages
Borderless Investment: No need for overseas bank accounts or complicated KYC, global users (except for the United States) can participate.
Cost Efficiency: Save on foreign exchange fees and high commissions associated with traditional cross-border securities trading.
Diversified strategies: Gate allows for 1 - 10 times leverage for both long and short operations, breaking the limitations of traditional stock trading.
Risk Warning
Liquidity Risk: Aside from popular tokens like NVDAx and TSLAx, most xStocks have insufficient trading depth, which may result in high slippage or inability to execute trades instantly.
Regulatory uncertainty: Products are not registered with securities regulatory authorities, and changes in policies across countries may affect service availability.
Platform and counterparty risks: Asset security relies on the cooperation of Gate and the backed custodial institutions, and one must be wary of technical failures or credit defaults.
Price deviation risk: During the US stock market closure, xStocks prices are frozen at the closing price, which may deviate from the actual stock price.
Future Outlook
As of July 2025, the top three tokens by trading volume in the xStocks area are TSLAx, SPYx, and CRCLx, indicating a strong demand in the market for technology leaders like Tesla.
Gate is holding the "xStocks Trading Competition". Users can receive up to 100 USDT in rewards by completing the specified trading volume. For investors, xStocks is not only a trading tool but also an entry point for the integration of traditional finance and the crypto world.
