Nasdaq Bets Big on Kraken with $100M Investment

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, valuing it at $21 billion. This investment comes from Nasdaq's venture arm and extends a partnership that began in March.

The deal allows Kraken to distribute Nasdaq-listed tokenized stocks on its own platform, giving customers access to these equities in token form with the same voting rights as shares traded on the exchange.

This is not the first time an established operator has taken a stake in a crypto exchange this year. In March, Intercontinental Exchange invested in OKX at a $25 billion valuation, while Deutsche Börse paid $200 million for 1.5% of Payward the following month.