Nasdaq Invests $100 Million in Kraken Parent Company Payward
Nasdaq backs Kraken parent with $100 million investment
Nasdaq Ventures has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange. As part of this agreement, Payward will adopt Nasdaq’s surveillance technology to monitor its various trading platforms for suspicious activity.
The investment strengthens a partnership formed in March 2026 to develop tokenized equities. Tokenized equities are traditional company shares that are represented and traded as digital tokens on a blockchain, which is a secure digital ledger used to track assets.
Key details of the investment and partnership
- Nasdaq Ventures is contributing $100 million in capital to Payward.
- Payward will implement Nasdaq’s surveillance tools across its crypto, stock, and futures markets.
- The deal reportedly values Payward at $21 billion.
- The companies plan to launch tokenized stock trading by the second quarter of 2027.
Strategic goals for tokenized trading
Arjun Sethi, the co-CEO of Payward, stated that moving stock settlements to a blockchain could significantly improve how markets operate. Currently, traditional stock trades often take two days to settle. Sethi noted that using blockchain technology allows for settlements on "rails that do not close," meaning markets could potentially operate 24/7 with immediate results.
Nasdaq President Tal Cohen expressed confidence that Payward will play a key role in building the infrastructure for this evolution in financial markets. The work is being handled by Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks unit.
Reported valuation and market competition
According to reports from Bloomberg, this investment values Payward at $21 billion. This is a significant increase from April 2026, when an investment from Deutsche Börse valued the company at approximately $13.3 billion. Payward has now secured partnerships and investments from three major exchange groups: Nasdaq, the London Stock Exchange (LSEG), and Deutsche Börse.
Payward’s platform for tokenized assets, known as xStocks, currently ranks third in the market for tokenized stocks. It trails behind competitors Ondo and Binance’s bStocks in terms of total value held on the blockchain.
What is confirmed about Payward’s status
Payward confirmed it filed a confidential draft for an initial public offering (IPO) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in November 2025. For the second quarter of 2026, the company reported adjusted revenue of $508 million, which was a 17% increase compared to the previous year. The number of funded accounts on the platform also grew to 6.6 million.
Timeline for future stock tokens
The companies expect to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) in the second quarter of 2027. These tokens are designed to be legally equivalent to ordinary shares and will be integrated into the official share registries of the companies that issue them. Initially, these tokens will be settled through Payward’s xStocks in eligible regions outside of the United States and the United Kingdom, such as Bermuda and Cyprus.
