Key Takeaways
- Nasdaq Ventures agreed Sept. 10 to take a position $100 million in Kraken father or mother Payward.
- Payward’s xStocks had topped $25 billion in quantity when the Nasdaq partnership started.
- Nasdaq targets Q2 2027 for NETs as Payward prepares its tokenized-stock infrastructure.
The funding, announced Sept. 10, provides monetary backing to a relationship Nasdaq and Payward established in March. Bloomberg, citing individuals accustomed to the matter, reported that the funding values Payward at $21 billion, though Nasdaq didn’t disclose a valuation in its announcement.
Nasdaq Places $100 Million Behind Kraken’s Blockchain Rails
The deal facilities on Nasdaq Fairness Tokens, or NETs, that are designed to signify shares of publicly traded corporations in digital kind. In contrast to cryptocurrency tokens that merely observe a inventory’s value, Nasdaq’s deliberate tokens are supposed to protect shareholder rights, regulatory protections, and company actions tied to the underlying safety.
Nasdaq plans to work with Payward’s xStocks infrastructure to attach regulated securities markets with public blockchain networks in jurisdictions the place the merchandise are permitted. Payward can even undertake Nasdaq’s market-surveillance expertise throughout cryptocurrency, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and choices. Nasdaq is concentrating on the second quarter of 2027 for the NET rollout.
“The subsequent period of market evolution will probably be outlined by how effectively and seamlessly capital and belongings transfer throughout the monetary system with sturdy liquidity,” Nasdaq President Tal Cohen remarked on Thursday. Cohen added that the partnership would assist construct a extra related monetary system whereas sustaining “belief, transparency, and integrity.”
xStocks Bridges Wall Road and Public Blockchains
The technical groundwork was laid out on March 9, when Nasdaq and Payward introduced plans for an Equities Transformation Gateway powered by xStocks. The system is meant to let eligible buyers move tokenized equities between regulated markets and open blockchain networks whereas retaining the rights and pricing tied to the underlying shares.
Payward stated xStocks had already processed greater than $25 billion in complete transaction quantity when the partnership was introduced, together with greater than $4 billion settled onchain, with greater than 85,000 distinctive holders. Payward Companies is anticipated to deal with know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) checks for customers accessing Nasdaq Fairness Tokens by its platform.
Payward and Kraken Co-CEO Arjun Sethi argues blockchain settlement might take away a number of the ready and collateral necessities constructed into conventional inventory clearing. “Onchain settlement removes the wait,” Sethi stated, including that the businesses plan to maneuver Nasdaq Fairness Tokens onto “rails that don’t shut, with shareholder rights intact.”
Sethi added:
“With xStocks, the aim is to make equities natively interoperable throughout regulated monetary programs and open blockchain networks, so clients all over the world can entry the identical underlying belongings by a extra steady, programmable, and liquid market construction.”
Nasdaq’s Funding Tightens a Rising Wall Road Alliance
The $100 million dedication additionally arrives as Payward builds deeper ties with conventional monetary corporations. Citadel Securities agreed to take a position $200 million at a $20 billion valuation in November 2025, whereas Deutsche Börse invested $200 million in April 2026 for an roughly 1.5% totally diluted stake. Payward also confidentially filed for a U.S. preliminary public providing in November 2025.
Payward’s enterprise has expanded alongside these offers. The corporate reported $508 million in adjusted income for the second quarter of 2026, up 17% from a yr earlier, together with $310 billion in platform quantity and $40 billion in belongings on its platform. It has additionally acquired companies spanning tokenized equities, derivatives, stablecoin funds and token infrastructure.
Regulators Maintain the Key to the Subsequent Part
The partnership displays a wider push by established exchanges to convey securities onto blockchain infrastructure somewhat than construct each element themselves. Deutsche Börse already owns a stake in Payward, the London Stock Trade has labored with xStocks, and different main trade operators are pursuing their very own digital-market methods.
The most important questions now concern regulation and execution. Nasdaq and Payward nonetheless should navigate how token transfers are handled below securities guidelines, how voting and company actions perform onchain and the place buyers will probably be allowed to move tokenized stocks onto open blockchain networks. The fast milestone is the deliberate second-quarter 2027 launch of Nasdaq Fairness Tokens, which might put the businesses’ imaginative and prescient of constantly accessible tokenized inventory markets to a a lot bigger take a look at.
