Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Payward

Nasdaq Ventures is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, in a deal that reportedly values the firm at about $21 billion. The Nasdaq investment expands a partnership focused on regulated tokenized stocks, blockchain infrastructure and 24-hour trading. Nasdaq and Payward are developing Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), with a launch expected as early as the second quarter of 2027. Payward will connect the products to its xStocks infrastructure, while Nasdaq will provide market-surveillance technology across crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures and options. The planned tokens are intended to preserve shareholder rights, including voting rights, corporate actions and investor participation, unlike some synthetic stock products. Kraken has expanded into stocks, derivatives and tokenized assets. Its European platform offers eligible customers access to thousands of US shares and more than 700 xStocks. xStocks activity rose from more than $25 billion in transaction volume and 85,000 holders in March to over $38 billion in later reports and more than $40 billion cumulatively in subsequent updates. Payward also reported that nearly $20 billion of xStocks volume had been settled on-chain by early September, with almost 200,000 holders. The Nasdaq investment strengthens institutional validation for tokenized stocks and could support growth in real-world assets, stablecoin settlement and round-the-clock markets. However, regulatory approval, shareholder-rights implementation and the 2027 launch timeline remain key risks. For crypto traders, the deal is broadly supportive of blockchain adoption but has no direct token-price catalyst because Payward and Kraken do not have a widely traded native cryptocurrency.