Nasdaq Puts $100 Million into Kraken Parent for Tokenization Push
Nasdaq's venture arm is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. This move aims to deepen a partnership between Nasdaq and Payward that focuses on developing infrastructure for trading tokenized equities.
The investment builds on a previous collaboration announced in March, where Nasdaq will work with Payward to develop tokenization infrastructure. Following this announcement, Nasdaq received approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow certain stocks to be traded and settled in tokenized form.
Nasdaq and Payward plan to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) on the xStocks platform in the second quarter of 2027. These tokens are designed to preserve the fundamental principles and benefits of regulated market infrastructure, ensuring investor transparency, market integrity, and liquidity.