Nasdaq Puts $100M Behind Tokenized Stocks Push with Payward Stake

Nasdaq has made a significant move in its expansion into the crypto space by investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of popular exchange Kraken. This investment is part of Nasdaq's broader strategy to enable 'always-on' market infrastructure and support the growth of tokenized assets.

The deal will see Payward's xStocks platform launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) by Q2 2027, allowing for trading and settlement beyond conventional market hours. This is a key step in bridging traditional stocks and blockchain trading.

Nasdaq's investment arm has been backing innovative projects to modernize markets, and this deal reflects the exchange's commitment to tokenization. The funding will support joint work on NETs with Payward's xStocks platform, with the goal of launching those tokenized equities by mid-2027.