The venture division of exchange Nasdaq is investing $100M in Payward — the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. The deal was announced on September 10.

According to Bloomberg, the investment values Payward at $21 billion. Nasdaq itself has not directly confirmed this figure.

Tokenized Shares with Voting Rights

The deal expands a partnership announced by the parties in March 2026. At that time, they agreed to create a gateway connecting regulated markets with blockchain networks.

Under the expanded agreement, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of shares traded on Nasdaq. Key feature: these tokens will grant the same voting rights as ordinary shares.

This is a fundamental difference from most existing products of this kind, where the token holder does not become a shareholder and does not participate in corporate governance.

What Payward Gets

  • Nasdaq's market surveillance technologies across all trading venues — for crypto assets, stocks, tokenized securities, futures and options;
  • joint development of Nasdaq Equity Tokens product with launch in Q2 2027.

The company's co-founder and co-CEO noted that blockchain settlements eliminate the waiting period in clearing traditional share transactions.

Third Similar Deal This Year

Nasdaq's investment was the third case in 2026 when a traditional exchange operator acquired a stake in a cryptocurrency exchange:

  • March — Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE owner) invested in OKX at a valuation of $25 billion, gaining a board seat;
  • April — Deutsche Börse invested $200M in Payward, acquiring 1.5% of capital.

How Valuation Changed

The dynamics are telling: in November 2025, the company raised $800M at a valuation of $20 billion. The April Deutsche Börse deal implied, by Bloomberg's calculations, approximately $13.3 billion.

Today's $21 billion represents significant growth in less than five months.

The company filed a confidential IPO application in November 2025 but postponed these plans in March 2026 — the same month Kraken became the first crypto company to gain access to the Fed's primary payment system.

What This Means for the Market

The total value of tokenized shares in circulation exceeds $2.9 billion with growth of 7.4% per month.

The trend is clear: traditional exchanges are not competing with crypto infrastructure but integrating into it through capital and partnerships. For investors, this means a gradual blurring of the line between buying stocks and trading digital assets.

This material is for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice.