Nasdaq’s venture capital arm has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, pushing Payward’s valuation to $21 billion. The funding expands upon an existing collaboration focused on testing Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs). Under the expanded partnership, the two companies will build distribution and trading market infrastructure, alongside market-surveillance technology, to launch tokenized equities in the second quarter of 2027.
The initiative aims to construct market architecture supporting digital representations of publicly traded securities on blockchain networks. Holders of tokenized assets obtain economic exposure without acquiring direct ownership of the underlying securities. Through the integration, Payward will implement Nasdaq’s market-surveillance software across its trading venues for crypto and tokenized equities, supporting Kraken’s broader strategy to expand into stocks, derivatives, and traditional financial products.
The deal reflects Wall Street’s efforts to integrate tokenized securities into mainstream financial infrastructure, establishing parallel system capabilities designed to enable faster settlement times and continuous, around-the-clock trading operations.
Industry Debate Surrounding Tokenized Asset Structures
The investment comes amid broader industry discussion regarding the legal and operational structure of tokenized stocks. A public dispute between the leadership of brokerage Robinhood and cinema chain AMC recently highlighted differing perspectives on tokenized assets created without issuer involvement.
AMC argued that such offerings establish synthetic markets providing financial exposure without granting genuine shareholder rights. In response, Robinhood defended the practice, stating that financial institutions maintain the right to construct and offer products that reference publicly traded equities. Despite these ongoing structural debates, Nasdaq’s partnership with Payward commits capital toward establishing standardized market infrastructure for tokenized equities on public networks.
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