Nasdaq Invests $100 Million in Kraken Parent Payward to Advance Tokenized Equities

Nasdaq Ventures has agreed to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, to accelerate the development of tokenized equity infrastructure ¹. Announced on Sept. 10, 2026, the expanded partnership focuses on advancing the Nasdaq Equity Token (NET) framework and integrating Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across Payward's trading venues ¹.

The collaboration, led by Nasdaq's Digital Liquidity Networks (DLN) business, aims to build always-on market infrastructure to improve global capital and asset mobility ¹. The companies expect to launch the NET infrastructure in the second quarter of 2027 ¹.

The Nasdaq Equity Token Framework

Nasdaq first announced its equity token design on March 9, 2026, aiming to put public issuers at the center of tokenized share ownership, governance, and investor engagement ². The issuer-sponsored approach allows public companies to retain control over their shares in tokenized form ². This design is intended to modernize corporate actions, proxy voting, and shareholder engagement through programmable features ².

The initiative builds on a September 2025 proposal filed by Nasdaq with the SEC to enable equity securities to trade on its markets and settle in token form through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) ². The design aligns with the SEC's 2026 Staff Statement on Tokenized Securities, which treats tokenized equities identically to traditional equity securities under federal law ².

Under the framework, blockchain records integrate directly into an issuer's official share registry, establishing a regulated bridge between on-chain records and off-chain identity ². A transfer of a token represents a legal transfer of the underlying security, maintaining regulatory equivalence, price discovery, and investor protections ².

Bridging Permissioned and Permissionless Environments

A central component of the partnership is the development of an "equities transformation gateway" ². This gateway is designed to allow issuers and investors to transition assets between permissioned environments and global, permissionless blockchain networks ².

By connecting Nasdaq's regulated market infrastructure with Payward's xStocks ecosystem, the gateway establishes interoperability between traditional financial systems and decentralized networks ². The gateway will be available to clients in international jurisdictions where xStocks operates, expanding access to public markets where traditional distribution is limited ².

For domestic market participants, the integration offers operational efficiencies. Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward, noted that over $2 trillion in stock trades pass through the U.S. clearing system daily ¹. While cutting the settlement cycle from two days to one in 2024 freed up $3 billion in collateral, on-chain settlement removes the waiting period entirely ¹. Moving NETs onto continuous, 24/7 rails allows shareholder rights to remain intact without settlement delays ¹.

Surveillance and Market Integrity

As part of the expanded agreement, Payward will deploy Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its entire suite of trading venues ¹. This deployment covers cryptocurrency, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options markets ¹.

Integrating these surveillance tools is intended to establish the safeguards necessary to support transparent, trusted markets at scale as tokenized assets migrate to global digital networks ¹.

Implications for Capital Markets

The collaboration represents a significant step toward the institutional adoption of tokenized real-world assets (RWAs). By linking traditional clearing infrastructure with decentralized networks, the initiative addresses key friction points in settlement times and collateral efficiency ¹².

For a deeper look at the initial funding details of this partnership, see Nasdaq Ventures Backs Kraken Parent Payward With $100M for Tokenized Equities.

What to Watch

The primary milestone for the partnership is the commercial and operational launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), scheduled for the second quarter of 2027 ¹. Additionally, Nasdaq plans to roll out other distributed ledger technology (DLT) services for corporate issuers in the first half of 2027 ².

Market participants should monitor ongoing regulatory reviews, as Nasdaq continues to engage with transfer agents, regulators, and industry infrastructure operators to refine the voluntary framework ².