Nasdaq’s venture arm is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, in a deal that values Payward at $21 billion. This investment extends a partnership established in March, under which Kraken will distribute Nasdaq’s tokenized stocks to its customers. These digital assets will carry the same voting rights as ordinary shares traded on the Nasdaq exchange.
The agreement involves building a gateway to move tokenized equities between regulated and on-chain venues, with Kraken already offering these products through its business-to-business arm, Payward Services. This marks the third time this year an established exchange operator has taken a stake in a crypto exchange, following Intercontinental Exchange’s investment in OKX and Deutsche Börse’s purchase of a 1.5% stake in Payward for $200 million. Payward previously raised $800 million at a $20 billion valuation last November.
This transaction signals a deepening integration between traditional market infrastructure and crypto-native platforms, moving beyond mere price exposure to include governance rights like voting. By distributing tokenized stocks with full shareholder privileges, Nasdaq and Kraken are attempting to bridge the functional gap between legacy equity markets and blockchain-based instruments, potentially setting a new standard for how digital securities are defined and utilized.
From a Market Structure perspective, the trend of major operators acquiring stakes in crypto exchanges suggests a strategic pivot toward controlling distribution channels for tokenized assets rather than competing solely on trading volume. With Nasdaq planning its own token next year and Payward’s valuation fluctuating between implied figures from recent deals, stakeholders should watch how regulatory frameworks evolve to accommodate these hybrid instruments, particularly regarding custody and settlement finality across on-chain and off-chain environments.
