Key highlights:
- Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward, valuing the firm at $21 billion
- The deal comes after it entered a partnership in March
- The exchange plans to launch its own tokenized shares, called Nasdaq Equity Tokens, in the second quarter of 2027
Nasdaq has put $100 million into Kraken’s parent company, Payward, in a deal that values the firm at $21 billion, Bloomberg reported. The investment builds on a partnership the two companies first announced in March.
Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Payward at $21 Billion Valuation
According to Bloomberg, Nasdaq is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, through its venture investment arm. The capital injection values Payward at $21… pic.twitter.com/meo6Yh2UAW
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) September 10, 2026
Nasdaq’s goal in backing Kraken’s parent company
Nasdaq is working on making company shares trade as digital tokens that can be held on a blockchain and moved outside normal stock exchange hours.
Building the systems needed to make that happen from scratch would take years. However, Kraken’s parent firm already runs this infrastructure through its xStocks service, which issues blockchain versions of listed shares.
Payward would handle the settlement of Nasdaq’s equity token trades and verify who is using them, according to a press release. Kraken customers will also be able to access tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed companies through the exchange’s platform while keeping the voting rights tied to traditional shares.
Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said the expanded partnership shows its confidence in the company’s use case in market infrastructure.
“The next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently and seamlessly capital and assets move across the financial system,” he said. “Expanding our relationship with Payward reflects our conviction that the company can play an important role in building the infrastructure that supports this evolution.”
Plans for Nasdaq’s tokenized shares
Nasdaq and Payward plan to launch a system that supports Nasdaq Equity Tokens, targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
The two firms made headway earlier this year when Nasdaq shared plans for a framework that connects tokens to the xStocks ecosystem.
Co-CEO Arjun Sethi highlighted the slow pace of traditional stock settlement as a reason for the change to blockchain-based trading.
“Buys and sells net down by about 98 percent, and the clearing house holds $10 billion to $20 billion of collateral against what is left while it waits a day to settle,” Sethi said. “Onchain settlement removes the wait.”
The Nasdaq deal comes after recent developments for the company. The London Stock Exchange and Payward struck a deal to bring UK stocks to its blockchain.
In another development. NYSE is building its blockchain infrastructure aimed at supporting 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and exchange-traded funds.
Payward sees valuation bump
The $21 billion valuation is a modest increase from the $20 billion valuation set back in November 2025. At the time, investors like Jane Street, DRW Venture Capital and Citadel Securities took stakes in the company.
That investment round came after the firm filed confidentially for an IPO with the U.S. SEC. However, the Kraken listing has now been delayed twice, with the second quarter of 2027 the earliest time it could make its debut. This means the new capital from Nasdaq could help speed up the timeline.
Source:: Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Payward, Valuing It at $21 Billion