CoinDesk
Nasdaq's venture arm has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent of crypto exchange Kraken, valuing the firm at $21 billion, Bloomberg reported Thursday. The capital extends a partnership announced in March, under which Kraken will distribute Nasdaq-listed stocks in tokenized form on its own platform while preserving the same voting rights as shares that trade on Nasdaq's exchange. The raise prints above the $20 billion valuation CoinDesk first reported Payward was seeking in May.
Why it matters
The deal moves tokenized equities from a peripheral RWA experiment into a regulated US market-structure question. Same voting rights means the tokenized form is functionally a share, not a synthetic, forcing a different conversation with the SEC than wrapped or custodial products. Nasdaq is not moving alone. NYSE is building its own venue for 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs, so the two largest US exchange operators are now publicly competing on blockchain rails. Tokenized equities are already the fastest-growing slice of on-chain RWAs: Binance's bStocks has accumulated roughly $118.5M in two months, making it the second-largest issuer and roughly 90% of on-chain equity DEX volume.
Market impact
A $21B valuation print for a crypto-native exchange parent resets the price-discovery benchmark for the sector after a year of compressed multiples. The partnership unlocks distribution: Kraken's user base becomes a direct on-ramp to Nasdaq-listed equities with no broker intermediary, while Nasdaq gets a live venue to test tokenized settlement at scale. Watch the structural terms of Payward's next round, any SEC or DTCC commentary on same-voting-rights tokenization, and whether NYSE names a launch partner for its competing venue. Competitive timeline matters more than the headline price.
Frequently asked questions
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How much did Nasdaq invest in Kraken parent Payward and at what valuation?
Nasdaq's venture arm invested $100 million in Payward, valuing the firm at $21 billion. That print is above the $20 billion CoinDesk reported Payward was seeking in May.
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What does the Nasdaq-Kraken partnership actually cover?
Kraken will distribute Nasdaq-listed stocks in tokenized form on its own platform, with the same voting rights as the underlying shares that trade on Nasdaq's exchange. The deal extends a partnership first announced in March.
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How does this compare to what NYSE is building in tokenized equities?
NYSE is building its own venue for 24/7 trading of tokenized stocks and ETFs. The two largest US exchange operators are now publicly competing on blockchain rails for tokenized securities infrastructure.
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Why does same voting rights matter for tokenized equities?
Same voting rights mean the tokenized form is functionally a share, not a synthetic or wrapper. That forces a different conversation with regulators and reshapes the legal and tax treatment of the on-chain instrument.
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How large is the on-chain tokenized equity market today?
Tokenized equities are the fastest-growing slice of on-chain RWAs. Binance's bStocks product has accumulated roughly $118.5 million in two months, making it the second-largest issuer and roughly 90% of on-chain equity DEX volume.
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