Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken Parent Payward at $21B Valuation
What happened: Nasdaq Ventures has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, raising its valuation to $21 billion.
What happened: Nasdaq Ventures has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, raising its valuation to $21 billion. The partnership will accelerate the development of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), which aim to bring tokenized, voting-enabled Nasdaq-listed stocks to crypto exchange users. NETs are slated for launch in Q2 2027, and Kraken will integrate Nasdaq’s market surveillance technology across its trading venues.
Why it matters: The move signals growing institutional interest in tokenized securities, with Nasdaq and NYSE both developing 24/7 tokenized-stock platforms. While Kraken’s leadership cautions that institutional adoption will be gradual, the $100M investment marks a significant step toward mainstreaming blockchain-based equities.
Source: CoinDesk