Nasdaq Invests $100 Million in Payward to Advance Tokenized Equities
Nasdaq Ventures agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, and the companies advanced their collaboration on Nasdaq Equity Tokens with an expected launch in the second quarter of 2027.
Nasdaq said on Sept. 10 that its venture arm agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, deepening a partnership aimed at developing infrastructure for trading tokenized equities. The companies also announced a new market surveillance agreement.
The investment was made through Nasdaq Ventures, the company's strategic investment arm, and reflects the strategic nature of the work the two organizations are advancing together, according to a GlobeNewswire release.
Nasdaq and Payward will continue to advance the operational and commercial infrastructure supporting Nasdaq Equity Tokens, known as NETs, with an expectation to launch NETs in the second quarter of 2027. Earlier this year, Nasdaq announced plans to develop NETs and introduced a framework designed to connect them with Payward's xStocks ecosystem.
"More than $2 trillion of stock trades run through the U.S. clearing system every day," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward. "The next phase of the collaboration is planned to advance Nasdaq Equity Tokens onto rails that do not close, with shareholder rights intact."
The investment reportedly values Payward at $21 billion, according to Bloomberg. Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets advisor on the transaction.
Surveillance and market integrity
As part of the expanded relationship, Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its portfolio of trading venues, including crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options. The companies said the arrangement combines tokenized market infrastructure with the safeguards needed for transparent and trusted markets at scale.
Within Nasdaq, the collaboration is led by Digital Liquidity Networks, the company's markets business focused on building always-on market infrastructure. The NETs framework is designed to allow stocks to circulate as blockchain-based tokens while maintaining existing shareholder rights and investor protections, according to the release.
The tokenized equities market has drawn growing interest from exchange operators. Binance's bStocks reached approximately $118.5 million in two months, and the NYSE said in January that it was developing a platform for tokenized securities.
Nasdaq's investment in Payward does not guarantee that NETs will launch on schedule or achieve the adoption the companies expect. The release contains forward-looking statements subject to risks including regulatory changes, market conditions, and implementation challenges.