- Nasdaq has injected $100 million in capital to expand its partnership with Payward.
- The move raises the valuation of Kraken’s parent company to $21 billion.
- The partners aim to launch an “always-on market” through Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) by Q2 2027.
Nasdaq, one of the world’s top stock exchanges, is making its move on all fronts. Beyond maintaining its lead in traditional financial markets, the institution is also dipping its toes into tokenized equities.
On Thursday, Nasdaq Ventures, Nasdaq’s venture capital arm, poured $100 million into Payward, Kraken’s parent company. The move aligns with its plan to achieve “always-on markets” through tokenization.
The latest development elevates Payward’s valuation to $21 billion according to Bloomberg analysts.
Nasdaq’s Partnership Expansion with Payward for Tokenization Initiatives
For Nasdaq, the milestone marks an expansion of its strategic partnership with Payward. The two notably forged a collaboration in March to develop a blueprint for a stock tokenization model under the Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) framework, scheduled to launch by the second quarter of 2027.
The event comes hot on the heels of Nasdaq’s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow its member firms and investors to tokenize the equity securities and exchange-traded products (ETPs) that they trade on its platform. The New York-based stock exchange called it a necessary step to accelerate financial innovation, while ensuring market stability, fairness, and investor protections.
Nasdaq highlighted in its press release that its partnership expansion with Payward aims to bolster the “evolution of tokenized market structure while maintaining an issuer-centric approach grounded in strong governance, regulatory compliance, and market integrity.” The exchange’s Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN) division serves as the architectural backbone of its always-on infrastructure initiative.
The partnership leverages Payward’s xStocks infrastructure layer and Nasdaq expertise in regulated markets. Additionally, it integrates Nasdaq’s surveillance technology to ensure integrity across Payward’s portfolio of trading venues.
“Expanding our relationship with Payward reflects our conviction that the company can play an important role in building the infrastructure that supports this evolution,” said Tal Cohen, President of Nasdaq. “This partnership advances our work on Nasdaq Equity Tokens and helps build a more connected financial system while preserving the trust, transparency and integrity that underpin capital formation.”
Payward’s xStocks
Payward’s xStocks tokens represent real-world stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Each token is backed 1:1 by its underlying equity asset held in a regulated custodian.
At the time of Nasdaq’s announcement, xStocks have a total asset value of $632.22 million. It accounts for approximately 22% of the $2.87 billion tokenized stock market, per RWA.xyz data. Among xStocks’ leading offerings are tokenized versions of Strategy’s STRC and common shares, Circle shares, and Tesla shares.
“NETs will be a giant leap forward: tokenized equities that move across market environments, carrying the same rights and protections as a traditional stock for issuers and investors,” added Robert Moore, Chief Financial Officer of Payward.
