Kraken and Nasdaq Unite to Revolutionize Tokenized Equities

Kraken's parent company Payward has formed a partnership with Nasdaq to build an 'equities transformation gateway.' The goal is to connect regulated tokenized equity markets with permissionless blockchain networks through Kraken's xStocks product. This infrastructure layer will allow eligible users to move tokenized equities between a regulated environment and open on-chain ecosystems.

The partnership will use xStocks to power the permissionless infrastructure behind Nasdaq's planned issuer-sponsored equity token design, expected to go live in the first half of 2027. The product has already processed over $25 billion in total transaction volume, with more than $4 billion settled on-chain and over 85,000 unique holders across supported networks.

Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said that tokenized equities could instead operate as collateral within unified trading systems supporting spot markets, cross-margin trading, derivatives, perpetual futures, and financing environments. He argued that the current model leaves capital trapped inside siloed venues, fragmenting liquidity and limiting the potential utility of equity holdings.