Nasdaq Ventures to Invest $100M in Kraken Parent Payward at $21B Valuation

Nasdaq (NDAQ) has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, through its venture arm. The investment deepens a partnership to build, distribute and trade tokenized stocks, targeting a second-quarter 2027 launch for the tokens.

The investment values Payward at $21 billion, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the deal. It expands a partnership the two firms first announced in March to develop tokenized equities, under which Kraken’s xStocks product would power a permissionless blockchain layer for Nasdaq’s issuer-sponsored equity tokens.

Payward will also adopt Nasdaq’s market surveillance technology across its crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures and options venues.

Settlement Without the Two-Day Wait Deutsche Börse paid $200 million for a stake that valued Payward at $13.3 billion in April, the same month Kraken began offering more than 11,000 US stocks and ETFs through its FINRA-regulated brokerage.