Key Highlights
- Payward, Kraken’s parent entity, received a $100 million investment from Nasdaq’s venture division
- The funding round establishes Payward’s valuation at $21 billion
- Tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed equities will be available on Kraken’s platform, maintaining complete shareholder voting privileges
- Nasdaq’s market surveillance infrastructure will be implemented across Payward’s cryptocurrency, equity, and derivatives platforms
- This agreement comes after Deutsche Bƶrse’s $200 million April investment and follows Kraken’s collaboration with the London Stock Exchange
Nasdaq has committed $100 million to Payward, which operates the cryptocurrency platform Kraken. Thursday’s announcement revealed the transaction, establishing Payward’s worth at $21 billion.
Nasdaq’s venture capital division facilitated the investment. This transaction expands upon an initial partnership agreement between both organizations revealed in March.
Blockchain-Based Equities Coming to Kraken
Through this agreement, Kraken plans to provide blockchain-based representations of stocks listed on Nasdaq via its trading platform. Customers will have the ability to purchase and maintain these equities in tokenized format while retaining identical voting privileges as traditional shareholders.
According to Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward, the upcoming stage of this partnership aims to bring Nasdaq Equity Tokens to continuously operating infrastructure while preserving all shareholder entitlements.
Reports from May indicated that Payward had been pursuing additional funding, targeting a $20 billion company valuation. The completed transaction exceeded that initial target.
For Nasdaq, this capital deployment represents a strategic move to advance its tokenized market infrastructure initiatives. The exchange submitted a tokenization framework to the US Securities and Exchange Commission twelve months ago.
Additionally, Payward plans to integrate Nasdaq’s market monitoring systems. These technologies will operate across all of its trading venues, including cryptocurrency markets, traditional equities, tokenized securities, futures contracts, and options platforms.
This announcement follows Nasdaq’s recent disclosure, approximately one month prior, regarding its acquisition plans for Level Markets as it expands into continuous trading operations.
Traditional Exchanges Embrace Tokenization
Nasdaq isn’t the only major exchange pursuing this transformation. The New York Stock Exchange is developing its own infrastructure for continuous, around-the-clock trading of blockchain-based stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Just weeks ago, Kraken announced a collaboration with the London Stock Exchange to provide 24/5 access to tokenized products that mirror prominent UK equities. Implementation of this service is scheduled for 2027.
Deutsche Bƶrse made a $200 million investment in Payward during April. That strategic partnership similarly emphasized blockchain-enabled securities and tokenized financial instruments.
Data from RWA.xyz indicates that tokenized stock products now represent over $2.9 billion in total distributed value. This metric has increased by 7.4% during the last thirty days.
This funding arrangement represents another significant milestone in Nasdaq’s strategic initiative to bridge conventional equity markets with blockchain technology and enable continuous market access.
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