The investment, made through Nasdaq Ventures, expands an existing collaboration between the two companies on Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs — blockchain-based representations of publicly traded stocks. The companies expect to launch NETs in the second quarter of 2027, Nasdaq said.
Through the arrangement, Kraken's platform will serve as a distribution channel for tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks, and those tokens will confer shareholder voting rights equivalent to those attached to shares on Nasdaq's traditional exchange, according to . The investment values Payward at $21 billion, according to .
Nasdaq said the collaboration is being led by its Digital Liquidity Networks division, which focuses on building around-the-clock market infrastructure. The next phase of the partnership will develop global distribution, trading, and post-trade capabilities for tokenized equities.
"The next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently and seamlessly capital and assets move across the financial system with durable liquidity," Nasdaq President Tal Cohen said in a statement. "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 Co-CEO Arjun Sethi pointed to the settlement inefficiencies that tokenized markets could address. "More than $2 trillion of stock trades run through the U.S. clearing system every day," Sethi said in a statement. "Onchain settlement removes the wait. The next phase of the collaboration is planned to advance Nasdaq Equity Tokens onto rails that do not close, with shareholder rights intact. "
As part of the expanded relationship, Payward has additionally agreed to integrate Nasdaq's market surveillance tools into its trading operations, spanning asset classes including crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options, Nasdaq said.
Earlier this year, Nasdaq unveiled its NET initiative and began establishing a framework linking those tokens to Payward's xStocks ecosystem. The new agreement is designed to build on that foundation by advancing the commercial and operational infrastructure needed for broader adoption.
Wells Fargo served as Nasdaq's exclusive capital markets advisor on the transaction, Nasdaq said.