Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent at $21B Valuation

Nasdaq has made a significant investment in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, for $100 million at a valuation of $21 billion. This investment values Payward 58% above its April price and marks the third major exchange group to invest in the company, following Deutsche Börse's $200 million investment in April and the London Stock Exchange's comparable arrangement nine days ago.

Nasdaq's venture arm will adopt Nasdaq's surveillance technology across its trading venues, which includes crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options. The deal extends a partnership between the two companies that was struck in March and adds a market surveillance agreement.

Payward reported adjusted revenue of $508 million for the second quarter, up 17% year-over-year, with platform transaction volume falling 18% to $310 billion. Funded accounts rose 42% to 6.6 million.