Nasdaq Invests $100 Million in Kraken Parent Payward at $21 Billion Valuation
Nasdaq has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as the traditional market operator expands its push into tokenized equities and always-on financial infrastructure.
According to Bloomberg, the investment WuBlockchain values Payward at $21 billion. Nasdaq's strategic investment arm, Nasdaq Ventures, is making the investment as part of a broader relationship between the two companies focused on connecting conventional financial-market infrastructure with blockchain-based systems.
Nasdaq Deepens Partnership With Payward
The investment builds on a collaboration announced in March, when Nasdaq and Payward began working on an equity-token framework designed to support the trading and movement of tokenized shares across regulated and on-chain environments.
Nasdaq said the expanded relationship will focus on infrastructure for the distribution, trading and settlement of tokenized equities. Payward brings Kraken's crypto-native trading platform and the infrastructure behind its xStocks ecosystem, while Nasdaq contributes market infrastructure, surveillance technology and expertise in regulated capital markets.
The two companies are also developing Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs. Nasdaq currently expects the framework to launch in the second quarter of 2027, subject to the necessary development and regulatory considerations.
Tokenized Equities Become Strategic Focus
The investment comes as Nasdaq moves more directly into the development of infrastructure intended to support markets operating beyond traditional trading hours. In March, Nasdaq said its equity-token initiative was designed to preserve issuer control, shareholder rights and regulatory protections while allowing securities to operate across blockchain networks.
The latest agreement also expands the relationship beyond tokenization. Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market-surveillance technology across its portfolio of trading venues, including crypto and tokenized-equity markets, according to Nasdaq.
For the broader digital-asset industry, Nasdaq's investment represents a significant institutional commitment to infrastructure connecting traditional securities markets with blockchain-based trading and settlement. The emphasis is shifting from simply issuing tokenized assets toward building the market infrastructure required to support them at scale.
The next major milestone will be Nasdaq's planned second-quarter 2027 launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens and how the framework connects with Payward's xStocks ecosystem.
Writer: Victoria HaleTechnology & Blockchain WriterVictoria Hale writes about blockchain technology, digital infrastructure, and the intersection of emerging technologies with finance. Her articles explore how new protocols and systems are shaping the evolving digital economy.She prioritises clarity and accuracy when explaining technical developments to a general audience.
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