Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent, Pushing Tokenized Stocks Forward

Nasdaq, one of the two main U.S. equity exchange operators, has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken.

The investment comes through Nasdaq Ventures, its strategic investment arm, and is part of a deal that also includes two further commitments.

Nasdaq and Payward will continue to work on the Nasdaq Equity Token framework, which aims to link traditional market infrastructure with blockchain-based trading while preserving compliance and issuer rights.

The companies plan to launch the framework in the second quarter of 2027, and as part of their collaboration, they have signed a new market surveillance agreement spanning Payward’s trading venues.