Nasdaq Invests Big in Kraken Parent Company Payward Amid Tokenized Equity Push
Nasdaq is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, at a valuation of $21 billion. The investment deepens a partnership between the two companies to develop tokenized equities and expand their presence in traditional financial markets.
The partnership aims to launch tokenized stocks by second-quarter 2027, which would allow buyers and sellers to hold tokens representing ownership in these stocks on public blockchains like Ethereum and Solana. This would eliminate the need for a clearing house to hold collateral against trades, as is currently the case with traditional stock trading.
Kraken will also adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its various venues, including its crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options platforms. The investment values Payward at $21 billion, a significant increase from Deutsche Börse's $13.3 billion valuation in April.