Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as part of its expansion into tokenized assets. The deal, announced by the exchange operator on Thursday, values Payward at $21 billion according to sources familiar with the matter. Under the agreement, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks on its platform, building upon a partnership between the two entities established in March.
This investment follows recent strategic moves by Nasdaq, including plans to acquire Level Markets and a tokenization proposal filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission a year ago. It also aligns with broader industry trends, such as Deutsche Börse’s $200 million investment in Payward in April and Kraken’s partnership with the London Stock Exchange for 24/5 trading of tokenized UK equities starting in 2027. Data from RWA.xyz indicates the distributed value of tokenized stocks currently exceeds $2.9 billion.
The direct capital injection from Nasdaq into Payward signals a shift from exploratory partnerships to integrated infrastructure development within the digital asset sector. By securing a stake in Kraken’s parent company, Nasdaq is actively embedding traditional equity listings into crypto-native platforms, effectively bridging the gap between conventional market structure and blockchain-based settlement layers.
From an Institutional Adoption perspective, this move validates the commercial viability of tokenized securities beyond experimental pilots. The involvement of major global exchanges like Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse suggests that regulatory frameworks are sufficiently mature to support significant financial commitments. Market participants should monitor how these investments influence liquidity standards and custody protocols for tokenized equities, as well as the potential for similar deals among other traditional finance incumbents seeking exposure to the growing $2.9 billion tokenized stock market.
