Nasdaq's venture arm has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, valuing the firm at $21 billion. The deal extends a partnership under which Kraken will distribute tokenized, voting-enabled Nasdaq-listed stocks, part of a broader push among exchange operators into blockchain infrastructure.
Nasdaq's venture arm has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, the exchange operator said Thursday, extending a partnership that began in March. The deal brings Payward's valuation to $21 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
Payward's push to raise fresh capital was first reported in May, when the company was said to be seeking money at a $20 billion valuation. Nasdaq said it views the stake as support for its work on tokenized market infrastructure.
Under the agreement, Kraken will distribute tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks on its own platform, carrying the same voting rights as ordinary shares traded on Nasdaq's exchange. According to Payward co-CEO Arjun Sethi: "rails that do not close, with shareholder rights intact".
The two companies set the partnership in motion in March, when Nasdaq outlined plans to give listed companies more control over shares issued in tokenized form. Nasdaq also plans to launch its own token in the second quarter of next year, according to Bloomberg's sources.
Nasdaq is not the only exchange operator buying into crypto. Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange, invested in OKX in March at a $25 billion valuation, taking a board seat and agreeing to open NYSE's tokenized equities markets to OKX's 120 million accounts. In April, Deutsche Börse invested $200 million in Payward, part of the German operator's push into blockchain-based securities.
Kraken also struck a deal earlier this month to bring 24/5 trading of tokenized UK stocks through the London Stock Exchange, starting in 2027. NYSE, meanwhile, is building its own venue for round-the-clock trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs.
The distributed value of tokenized stocks has passed $2.9 billion, up 7.4% over the past month, according to data compiled by RWA.xyz.
Sources: CoinDesk, Cointelegraph, Decrypt
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