Nasdaq Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Nasdaq Inc., said it will invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The investment is part of an expanded relationship that includes continued development of the Nasdaq Equity Token framework, a new market surveillance agreement, and the adoption of Nasdaq’s surveillance technology across Payward’s trading venues, which cover crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures and options.
Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets advisor on the transaction. The partnership aims to advance global distribution, trading and post-trade capabilities for tokenized equities through Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks unit.
Tal Cohen, president of Nasdaq, said the next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently capital and assets move across the financial system with durable liquidity. Arjun Sethi, co‑CEO of Payward, noted that more than $2 trillion of stock trades run through the U.S. clearing system each day, and that cutting the clearing wait time from two days to one in 2024 released $3 billion, adding that on‑chain settlement removes the wait.
Nasdaq had earlier in 2026 announced plans to develop Nasdaq Equity Tokens and introduced a framework to connect them with Payward’s xStocks ecosystem, with a target launch in the second quarter of 2027.
