Nasdaq Bets Big on Tokenized Stocks with $100M Investment in Kraken's Parent

Nasdaq has announced its involvement in the development of tokenized stocks, an emerging area of investment where assets are recorded on a blockchain. The exchange operator's Nasdaq Ventures arm is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken.

The investment and collaboration agreement will enable the creation of high-trust, high-reliability tokenized stock trading infrastructure. This system aims to confer direct ownership and voting rights on stockholders, similar to traditional stocks but with increased transparency and security.

Nasdaq has been working on its Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) framework in collaboration with Payward. The goal is to launch the system in the second quarter of 2027, although it remains unclear whether this will be a full-scale rollout or a pilot version.

While tokenized stocks are still relatively rare compared to traditional exchanges, the potential for growth and innovation in this area is significant. If successful, Nasdaq could reap substantial rewards by advancing the technology and establishing itself as a leading player in the field.