Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Payward, Valuing It at $21B

Nasdaq has invested $100 million into Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. This investment values Payward at approximately $21 billion, according to Bloomberg reporting.

The partnership between Nasdaq and Payward is designed to bring tokenized stocks closer to mainstream capital markets. The companies are developing Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), which will allow equities to move across different market environments while preserving ownership rights and investor protections.

Payward's existing xStocks infrastructure will connect with the NET system, allowing for the distribution of tokenized assets through blockchain-based infrastructure.