Nasdaq Leads $100M Investment in Payward, Elevating Kraken Parent’s Valuation to $21B and Advancing Tokenized Equity Platform

• Nasdaq injected $100 million to expand its strategic partnership with Payward.
• The funding elevated Payward’s valuation to $21 billion.
• The partners plan to launch an “always‑on market” powered by the Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) by Q2 2027.

Nasdaq, a premier global stock exchange, is extending its focus beyond traditional markets to explore tokenized equities.

Nasdaq Ventures, the exchange’s venture capital arm, invested $100 million in Payward, Kraken’s parent, to accelerate its “always‑on markets” tokenization strategy.

The funding raises Payward’s valuation to $21 billion, according to Bloomberg analysts.

Nasdaq Deepens Strategic Partnership with Payward to Develop Tokenized Equity Framework

This expansion builds on Nasdaq’s March agreement with Payward to create a stock‑tokenization blueprint under the Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) framework, targeting a Q2 2027 launch.

Nasdaq’s SEC filing, enabling member firms and investors to tokenize equities and ETPs traded on its platform, reflects the exchange’s commitment to accelerate financial innovation while preserving market stability, fairness, and investor protection.

The partnership aims to drive the evolution of tokenized market structure with an issuer‑centric approach that emphasizes governance, regulatory compliance, and market integrity, supported by Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN) division.

The collaboration utilizes Payward’s xStocks infrastructure, combines Nasdaq’s regulated‑market expertise, and incorporates Nasdaq’s surveillance technology to safeguard integrity across Payward’s trading venues.

“Expanding our relationship with Payward reflects our conviction that the company can play an important role in building the infrastructure that supports this evolution,” said Tal Cohen, President of Nasdaq. “This partnership advances our work on Nasdaq Equity Tokens and helps build a more connected financial system while preserving the trust, transparency and integrity that underpin capital formation.”

Payward’s xStocks Token Platform

Payward’s xStocks tokens replicate real‑world equities and ETFs, each fully backed 1:1 by the underlying asset held in a regulated custodian.

At the time of the announcement, xStocks held $632.22 million in assets, representing roughly 22 % of the $2.87 billion tokenized equity market (RWA.xyz). Top offerings include tokenized Strategy STRC, Circle, and Tesla shares.

“NETs will be a giant leap forward: tokenized equities that move across market environments, carrying the same rights and protections as a traditional stock for issuers and investors,” added Robert Moore, Chief Financial Officer of Payward.

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