Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Company Payward
Nasdaq Ventures has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken. This investment expands an existing relationship between the two companies into three distinct tracks: a capital commitment, adoption of Nasdaq market-surveillance technology, and continued development of infrastructure for proposed Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs).
The agreement establishes Nasdaq's intended commitment to invest in Payward, but the resulting ownership percentage and completion timetable remain undisclosed. The investment is expected to benefit both companies, with Payward adopting Nasdaq's surveillance technology across its trading venues.
NETs are a future offering that will allow for the tokenization of equities. While the launch window remains a proposal, the partnership aims to establish the operational and commercial connections between NET design and xStocks ecosystem. This includes capabilities needed to distribute, trade, and process tokenized equities after execution.