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Nasdaq invests $100M in Kraken parent Payward to build tokenized stock trading

Nasdaq invests $100M in Kraken parent Payward to build tokenized stock trading

Money Moves

Reported $21B valuation as Nasdaq Equity Tokens target a Q2 2027 launch

Yesterday: Nasdaq Ventures invests $100M in Payward

Overview

Updated Yesterday

A stock market is investing in a crypto exchange so its own listed shares can trade on blockchains. Nasdaq's venture arm committed $100 million to Payward, parent of the Kraken exchange, backing a framework called Nasdaq Equity Tokens that would put publicly listed stocks on round-the-clock blockchain rails.

The companies first partnered in March. Bloomberg reports the investment values Payward at $21 billion, though neither company confirmed that figure. Trading of the tokenized stocks is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2027.

Why it matters

If Nasdaq's tokenized rails launch, listed stocks can trade around the clock on blockchains — and the exchange that owns the rails keeps control of the next cycle of market infrastructure.

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Key Indicators

$100M
Nasdaq Ventures investment in Payward
Committed via Nasdaq's venture arm, deepening a tokenized-equities partnership first struck in March 2026.
$21B
Payward valuation per Bloomberg sourcing
Reported figure neither Nasdaq nor Payward confirmed; earlier 2026 marks ranged from $13.3B to $20B.
Q2 2027
Nasdaq Equity Tokens launch target
Live trading expected on Payward's xStocks platform, moved from an earlier Q1 2027 target.
$508M
Payward Q2 2026 adjusted revenue
Up 17% year over year, with 6.6 million funded accounts and $40 billion in assets on its platforms.
$13.3B
Valuation implied by Deutsche Börse's April stake
Deutsche Börse paid $200M for 1.5% of Payward in April 2026, a figure a third below the reported $21B.

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People Involved

Organizations Involved

Timeline

March 2026 September 2026

4 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date
  1. Nasdaq Ventures invests $100M in Payward

    Latest Investment

    Nasdaq committed $100 million, deepening the tokenized-equities partnership and adding a market surveillance agreement across Payward's venues.

  2. London Stock Exchange brings top London stocks to xStocks

    Partnership

    Payward's LSE deal will put the 100 largest London-listed companies into the xStocks framework for eligible international investors.

  3. Deutsche Börse takes $200M stake in Payward

    Investment

    The German exchange bought 1.5% of Payward at an implied valuation of $13.3 billion, becoming the first major exchange on its shareholder register.

  4. Nasdaq and Payward unveil tokenized equity framework

    Partnership

    The companies announced Nasdaq Equity Tokens plus a framework linking Nasdaq's regulated infrastructure to Payward's xStocks platform.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

February 1971

Nasdaq's founding (1971)

Nasdaq launched as the world's first fully electronic stock market, replacing phone calls and floor shouts with a price-quoting computer network. Stock exchanges had worked the same way for two centuries.

Then

Electronic trading won out over floor-based markets across the globe within two decades.

Now

The exchanges that built the new rails kept control; those that resisted lost share or were bought.

Why this matters now

Nasdaq itself was the disruptive new rail. Now it is trying to build the next one so blockchain trading doesn't bypass it the way electronic trading bypassed floor markets.

March 2024

BlackRock's BUIDL tokenized fund (2024)

BlackRock launched BUIDL, a tokenized money market fund, working through regulators rather than around them. The fund grew past $1 billion in assets within months.

Then

BUIDL proved institutional demand for tokenized assets is real and that a mainstream manager can run one within securities law.

Now

It anchored a shift toward putting real-world assets on blockchains, from Treasuries to now equities.

Why this matters now

BUIDL showed the playbook Nasdaq is now following: build regulated, issuer-protecting rails and let the tokens trade where buyers already are.

1990s-2000s

Electronification of equity trading (1990s-2000s)

Exchanges spent two decades moving from open-floor auctions to electronic matching engines, squeezed by ECNs and new entrants that moved first. NYSE's hybrid market and decimalization in 2001 marked the end of the old floor era.

Then

Firms that built electronic infrastructure early, like Nasdaq and the ECNs, gained share and pricing power.

Now

Infrastructure transitions reward whoever owns the rails; the payoff now is settlement speed, not seat on an exchange floor.

Why this matters now

Blockchain settlement is that kind of transition, and Nasdaq, Deutsche Börse, and LSE are all buying in rather than getting displaced.

Sources

(8)