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

Nasdaq has made a significant investment in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The venture arm of Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, valuing it at $21 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

This deal deepens an existing relationship between Nasdaq and Payward, which was announced in March as a partnership to support tokenized equities. With this investment, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks directly on its own platform.

The adoption of Nasdaq's surveillance technology across multiple market types is also part of the deal. This integration will cover Payward's crypto venues, equities venues, tokenized equity venues, futures, and options, providing a standardized monitoring layer for compliance and risk management.