Nasdaq Drops $100M on Kraken Parent in Tokenized Stock Power Play

The investment, announced Sept. 10, adds fiscal backing to a narration Nasdaq and Payward established successful March. Bloomberg, citing radical acquainted with the matter, reported that the concern values Payward astatine $21 billion, though Nasdaq did not disclose a valuation successful its announcement.

Nasdaq Puts $100 Million Behind Kraken’s Blockchain Rails

The woody centers connected Nasdaq Equity Tokens, oregon NETs, which are designed to correspond shares of publically traded companies successful integer form. Unlike cryptocurrency tokens that simply way a stock’s price, Nasdaq’s planned tokens are intended to sphere shareholder rights, regulatory protections, and firm actions tied to the underlying security.

Nasdaq plans to enactment with Payward’s xStocks infrastructure to link regulated securities markets with nationalist blockchain networks successful jurisdictions wherever the products are permitted. Payward volition besides follow Nasdaq’s market-surveillance exertion crossed cryptocurrency, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options. Nasdaq is targeting the 2nd 4th of 2027 for the NET rollout.

“The adjacent epoch of marketplace improvement volition beryllium defined by however efficiently and seamlessly superior and assets determination crossed the fiscal strategy with durable liquidity,” Nasdaq President Tal Cohen remarked connected Thursday. Cohen added that the concern would assistance physique a much connected fiscal strategy portion maintaining “trust, transparency, and integrity.”

xStocks Bridges Wall Street and Public Blockchains

The method groundwork was laid retired connected March 9, erstwhile Nasdaq and Payward announced plans for an Equities Transformation Gateway powered by xStocks. The strategy is intended to fto eligible investors move tokenized equities betwixt regulated markets and unfastened blockchain networks portion retaining the rights and pricing tied to the underlying shares.

Payward said xStocks had already processed much than $25 cardinal successful full transaction measurement erstwhile the concern was announced, including much than $4 cardinal settled onchain, with much than 85,000 unsocial holders. Payward Services is expected to grip know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks for users accessing Nasdaq Equity Tokens done its platform.

Payward and Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi argues blockchain colony could region immoderate of the waiting and collateral requirements built into accepted banal clearing. “Onchain colony removes the wait,” Sethi said, adding that the companies program to determination Nasdaq Equity Tokens onto “rails that bash not close, with shareholder rights intact.”

Sethi added:

“With xStocks, the extremity is to marque equities natively interoperable crossed regulated fiscal systems and unfastened blockchain networks, truthful customers astir the satellite tin entree the aforesaid underlying assets done a much continuous, programmable, and liquid marketplace structure.”

Nasdaq’s Investment Tightens a Growing Wall Street Alliance

The $100 cardinal committedness besides arrives arsenic Payward builds deeper ties with accepted fiscal firms. Citadel Securities agreed to put $200 cardinal astatine a $20 cardinal valuation successful November 2025, portion Deutsche Börse invested $200 cardinal successful April 2026 for an astir 1.5% afloat diluted stake. Payward besides confidentially filed for a U.S. archetypal nationalist offering successful November 2025.

Payward’s concern has expanded alongside those deals. The institution reported $508 cardinal successful adjusted gross for the 2nd 4th of 2026, up 17% from a twelvemonth earlier, on with $310 cardinal successful level measurement and $40 cardinal successful assets connected its platform. It has besides acquired businesses spanning tokenized equities, derivatives, stablecoin payments and token infrastructure.

Regulators Hold the Key to the Next Phase

The concern reflects a wider propulsion by established exchanges to bring securities onto blockchain infrastructure alternatively than physique each constituent themselves. Deutsche Börse already owns a involvement successful Payward, the London Stock Exchange has worked with xStocks, and different large speech operators are pursuing their ain digital-market strategies.

The biggest questions present interest regularisation and execution. Nasdaq and Payward inactive indispensable navigate however token transfers are treated nether securities rules, however voting and firm actions relation onchain and wherever investors volition beryllium allowed to move tokenized stocks onto unfastened blockchain networks. The contiguous milestone is the planned second-quarter 2027 motorboat of Nasdaq Equity Tokens, which would enactment the companies’ imaginativeness of continuously accessible tokenized banal markets to a overmuch larger test.