Key Takeaways:
Nasdaq is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, at a $21 billion valuation, deepening a tokenized stocks partnership first announced in March.
The two companies are building Nasdaq Equity Tokens, a framework to trade and settle tokenized shares across regulated and on-chain venues, connected to Kraken's xStocks ecosystem.
A formal launch is targeted for the second quarter of 2027, following an SEC rule change that permits certain securities to trade and settle in tokenized form.
Nasdaq is putting $100 million into Payward, the parent company of the crypto exchange Kraken, in a deal that values the firm at $21 billion, CoinDesk and Bloomberg reported on September 10. The money comes from Nasdaq Ventures, the exchange operator's investment arm, and it deepens a tokenized stock partnership the two companies first announced in March.
The plan centers on moving real stocks onto blockchain rails. Nasdaq and Payward have been building an equity token framework, branded Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs, meant to let tokenized shares trade and settle across both regulated markets and on-chain venues. The tokens connect to Payward's xStocks ecosystem, the tokenized equity product Kraken already runs.
The deal leans on a recent rule change. The Securities and Exchange Commission signed off on a Nasdaq proposal that lets certain securities trade and settle in tokenized form, and the companies expect to launch the offering formally in the second quarter of 2027. Payward has also agreed to roll out Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its crypto, equities, tokenized equity, futures, and options venues, the kind of monitoring traditional exchanges use to flag manipulation.
The most notable part of this is who is doing it. Tokenized stocks have mostly been the domain of crypto-native firms, and Fortune reported the market has grown from about $2.5 billion at the start of 2026 to roughly $13.4 billion by September. A 55-year-old US stock exchange operator writing a check and lending its surveillance stack is a different kind of endorsement.
It also raises the question WYDE has tracked all year, whether a token represents a real, custodied share or just a price feed, the backed-versus-mirror line WYDE co-founder Aaron Rafferty walked through in a recent Benzinga feature on vetting tokenized stocks. That same distinction is what is being fought over in the dispute between AMC and Robinhood over synthetic stock tokens. Worth watching.
People Also Ask
What is Nasdaq investing in Payward?
Nasdaq Ventures is investing $100 million in Payward, Kraken's parent company, at a $21 billion valuation, deepening a partnership to build tokenized stock infrastructure.
What are Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs)?
NETs are a framework Nasdaq and Payward are building to let tokenized shares trade and settle across regulated and on-chain venues, connected to Kraken's xStocks ecosystem.
When will Nasdaq and Kraken launch tokenized stocks?
The two companies expect to launch the offering formally in the second quarter of 2027, following an SEC rule change permitting tokenized trading and settlement.
How big is the tokenized stock market?
Tokenized equities have grown from about $2.5 billion at the start of 2026 to roughly $13.4 billion by September 2026, according to industry trackers cited by Fortune.
Sources: CoinDesk, Bloomberg, Fortune.