Nasdaq Ventures Backs Payward With $100M, Targets 2027 Launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens
Nasdaq Ventures Backs Payward With $100M, Targets 2027 Launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens #
Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, through its Nasdaq Ventures arm and expanded a collaboration on tokenised market infrastructure. The two companies are targeting a commercial launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) in the second quarter of 2027.
The investment, disclosed Thursday, follows a partnership announced earlier this year when Nasdaq unveiled plans to develop NETs and a framework linking those tokens to Payward’s xStocks ecosystem. The arrangement is designed to allow publicly traded securities to exist and move on blockchain networks while preserving the shareholder rights and protections normally associated with listed equities.
Under the expanded agreement, Kraken will distribute Nasdaq-listed stocks in tokenised form on its own platform, with holders retaining standard shareholder voting rights. The partners said the infrastructure is built to operate continuously, enabling trading outside conventional market hours.
The deal also includes a market-surveillance agreement under which Payward will deploy Nasdaq’s surveillance technology across its trading venues, covering crypto, equities, tokenised equities, futures, and options.
Nasdaq president Tal Cohen described the investment as a conviction bet on Payward’s role in reshaping market infrastructure. Bloomberg reported the deal values Payward at approximately $21 billion, up from the $20 billion figure cited when Payward’s fundraising plans were first reported in May.
Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi said the next phase of the collaboration will advance NETs onto always-on rails while keeping shareholder rights intact. Both companies say that combination distinguishes their approach from earlier tokenised-asset experiments that stripped economic or governance rights from token holders.
Separately, the London Stock Exchange has partnered with Payward to tokenise UK blue-chip equities on the xStocks platform. Nasdaq has said it intends to help build and oversee blockchain-based market infrastructure as the tokenised-securities market develops.
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