SKN | Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent at $21B Valuation as Tokenized Stocks Expand

Key Points:

• Nasdaq’s venture arm invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, reportedly valuing the business at $21 billion.
• Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks, while Payward will deploy Nasdaq’s market-surveillance technology across its trading venues.
• The investment deepens the relationship between traditional exchanges and crypto platforms as tokenized equities and round-the-clock trading gain momentum.

Nasdaq Takes Stake in Kraken Parent

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, strengthening the relationship between traditional market infrastructure and the growing tokenized-equity sector.

Nasdaq’s venture arm made the investment as the exchange operator expands its efforts to develop blockchain-based securities and markets capable of operating beyond conventional trading hours.

As part of the agreement, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks on its platform. Payward will also adopt Nasdaq’s surveillance technology across its cryptocurrency, equities, tokenized-equity, futures and options venues.

The investment reportedly values Payward at approximately $21 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

Tokenized Equities Become Strategic Priority

The investment builds on a partnership between Nasdaq and Payward announced in March, reflecting a broader effort by both companies to develop infrastructure for tokenized securities.

For Nasdaq, the relationship provides exposure to a crypto-native platform with an established global user base. For Kraken, access to Nasdaq’s market technology and relationships could strengthen its position as traditional securities increasingly move onto blockchain-based infrastructure.

Nasdaq has also been pursuing regulatory changes that would allow tokenized versions of stocks to trade through its market infrastructure. The exchange previously submitted a tokenization proposal to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The strategy is part of a broader push toward “always-on” markets, in which blockchain technology could enable trading and settlement outside the traditional operating schedule of stock exchanges.

Kraken Builds Around 24/7 Financial Markets

Kraken has increasingly expanded beyond conventional cryptocurrency trading as demand grows for tokenized financial products.

Earlier this month, Kraken partnered with the London Stock Exchange to provide access to 24/5 trading of tokenized stocks tracking leading UK equity products, with the service scheduled to launch in 2027.

Nasdaq also announced plans last month to acquire Level Markets as part of its expansion into always-on financial markets.

The latest investment follows a similar move by Deutsche Börse. In April, the German exchange operator invested $200 million in Payward as part of its strategy to expand access to blockchain-based securities and tokenized investment products.

The growing involvement of major exchanges suggests tokenization is increasingly being viewed as an extension of established capital-market infrastructure rather than solely as a cryptocurrency application.

Tokenized Stock Market Approaches $3B

The market for tokenized stocks has expanded rapidly alongside institutional interest.

Data compiled by RWA.xyz shows that the distributed value of tokenized stocks has surpassed $2.9 billion, representing a 7.4% increase over the previous month.

While still small compared with traditional global equity markets, the growth demonstrates increasing demand for blockchain-based representations of publicly traded securities.

Tokenized equities could eventually enable broader trading-hour access, programmable settlement and potentially more efficient movement of assets across financial platforms. Regulatory approval, market structure and investor protections will remain important factors in determining how quickly the market develops.

Outlook

Nasdaq’s investment in Payward highlights the accelerating convergence between traditional exchanges and crypto-native financial infrastructure. By combining Nasdaq’s surveillance and market technology with Kraken’s digital-asset platform, the partnership could help bridge conventional equities and blockchain-based trading. With major exchanges including Nasdaq and Deutsche Börse investing directly in Payward and tokenized stock values continuing to grow, tokenized equities are increasingly becoming a strategic component of the next generation of capital-market infrastructure.