Nasdaq Doubles Down on Tokenization with $100M Payward Investment

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, at a valuation of $21 billion. This deal expands Nasdaq's tokenized-equity framework and puts Payward's crypto, equities, and derivatives venues under Nasdaq's market surveillance technology.

The investment builds on Nasdaq Equity Tokens, a framework unveiled in March that allows public companies to issue blockchain-recorded shares while keeping their existing share registry and regulatory status intact. Payward's xStocks system is the rail it is building on, with over $25 billion in trading volume processed and $4 billion settled on-chain since launching less than a year ago.

Nasdaq wants these tokens operational by the second quarter of 2027. Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken, said 'More than $2 trillion of stock trades run through the U.S. clearing system daily. Onchain settlement removes the wait.'