Nasdaq invests $100M in Kraken parent Payward to build tokenized stock trading
Money MovesReported $21B valuation as Nasdaq Equity Tokens target a Q2 2027 launch
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Overview
Updated YesterdayA 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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People Involved
Organizations Involved
The world's first fully electronic stock market, now building tokenized equity rails.
Private company whose Kraken exchange is one of the largest crypto platforms.
European exchange group that took a $200M stake in Payward in April 2026.
Timeline
March 2026 September 2026
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Nasdaq Ventures invests $100M in Payward
Latest InvestmentNasdaq committed $100 million, deepening the tokenized-equities partnership and adding a market surveillance agreement across Payward's venues.
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London Stock Exchange brings top London stocks to xStocks
PartnershipPayward's LSE deal will put the 100 largest London-listed companies into the xStocks framework for eligible international investors.
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Deutsche Börse takes $200M stake in Payward
InvestmentThe German exchange bought 1.5% of Payward at an implied valuation of $13.3 billion, becoming the first major exchange on its shareholder register.
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Nasdaq and Payward unveil tokenized equity framework
PartnershipThe 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.
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.
Electronic trading won out over floor-based markets across the globe within two decades.
The exchanges that built the new rails kept control; those that resisted lost share or were bought.
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.
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.
BUIDL proved institutional demand for tokenized assets is real and that a mainstream manager can run one within securities law.
It anchored a shift toward putting real-world assets on blockchains, from Treasuries to now equities.
BUIDL showed the playbook Nasdaq is now following: build regulated, issuer-protecting rails and let the tokens trade where buyers already are.
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.
Firms that built electronic infrastructure early, like Nasdaq and the ECNs, gained share and pricing power.
Infrastructure transitions reward whoever owns the rails; the payoff now is settlement speed, not seat on an exchange floor.
Blockchain settlement is that kind of transition, and Nasdaq, Deutsche Börse, and LSE are all buying in rather than getting displaced.
