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Nasdaq Ventures invests $100 million in Payward to develop tokenized equities for 2027 launch

Nasdaq Ventures has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of the Kraken crypto exchange. This investment brings Payward's valuation to $21 billion. The partnership aims to develop market infrastructure and surveillance technology to support the launch of tokenized equities in the second quarter of 2027. Kraken will distribute Nasdaq's tokenized stocks on its own platform. These tokenized assets will allow users to buy and own Nasdaq-listed stocks in a digital form on a blockchain network. Unlike some other tokenized versions of stocks, these will maintain the same voting rights as regular equities that trade on Nasdaq's exchange. Payward will also adopt Nasdaq's market-surveillance technology across its trading venues. This move allows Kraken to expand beyond cryptocurrencies into traditional financial products like stocks and derivatives. The deal follows a broader push by U.S. exchange operators to integrate blockchain infrastructure into mainstream markets.

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