Nasdaq has made a $100 million investment in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, in a move that deepens the pair’s work on Nasdaq tokenized stocks and pushes Kraken’s valuation to $21 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The deal, announced on Thursday, builds on the two companies’ existing collaboration to develop Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) and link them with Payward’s xStocks ecosystem.
The companies expect to formally launch the offering in the second quarter of 2027.
Nasdaq tokenized stocks investment follows DLN launch
The agreement comes after Nasdaq launched its Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN) markets business in August, a unit designed to bring together liquidity platforms, tokenisation capabilities, and fintech solutions serving the digital assets ecosystem.
It also follows the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of a Nasdaq rule change permitting certain securities to trade and settle in tokenised form.
‘The next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently and seamlessly capital and assets move across the financial system with durable liquidity,’ Nasdaq president Tal Cohen said in a statement.
Payward will use Nasdaq’s market surveillance tools across its trading platforms to monitor for potential manipulation and other trading abuses.
Payward builds exchange partnerships on multiple fronts
For Payward, the Nasdaq deal is one of several exchange tie-ups. According to A-Team Insight, the company has also announced an investment and tokenisation agreement with Deutsche Börse and a separate deal to tokenise publicly-listed equities in the UK with the London Stock Exchange.
The tokenised stocks market has expanded rapidly. Its market capitalisation grew 400% over the past year to $1.7 billion in June, according to an a16z Crypto report. CoinGecko data now puts the figure above $2 billion.
Unlike traditional equities, tokenised stocks can be held in digital wallets, transferred directly between users, and traded around the clock.
Several large players have entered the space this year. Intercontinental Exchange, owner of the New York Stock Exchange, said it planned a platform for tokenised securities trading and on-chain settlement. Securitize has partnered with the NYSE on blockchain-native shares, while Dinari offers eligible US investors tokens backed by stocks and ETFs.
Robinhood said users in more than 120 countries could access blockchain-based stock tokens through its wallet, though the product remains unavailable in the United States as regulators weigh its structure and investor safeguards. Coinbase, Binance, and the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp. have also pursued tokenisation initiatives.
Thursday’s announcement arrives amid a live dispute over whether tokenised stocks confer genuine ownership. Over the weekend, cinema chain AMC Entertainment accused Robinhood of creating an unauthorised market imitating trading in AMC shares through its overseas platform without the company’s approval. Robinhood defended its product, arguing that brokerages can create financial instruments tied to publicly traded stocks without a company’s permission.
Payward’s formal launch with Nasdaq is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.
