Nasdaq Invests in Kraken Parent Payward, Valuing it at $21 Billion

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, valuing it at approximately $21 billion. This investment is part of a deeper alliance between Nasdaq and Payward to bring tokenized stocks closer to mainstream capital markets.

The partnership aims to connect regulated equities with blockchain infrastructure, developing Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) that will allow equities to move across different market environments while preserving ownership rights and investor protections. Payward will connect the system with its existing xStocks infrastructure, which has already surpassed $38 billion in transaction volume.

Kraken's aggressive expansion into equities, derivatives, and tokenized assets has contributed to this rapid growth, with eligible customers now able to access thousands of conventional U.S. shares alongside more than 700 xStocks. The planned Nasdaq products are expected to preserve shareholder rights such as voting, a major distinction from some synthetic stock tokens.