Nasdaq has put $100 million into Payward, the parent organization of the digital asset exchange Kraken, as the New York-based electronic stock exchange broadens its footprint into tokenized instruments.
The investment arm of Nasdaq deployed $100 million into Payward, as disclosed by the exchange provider in a Thursday announcement. Under the terms of the agreement, Kraken will make tokenized variations of Nasdaq-listed equities available on its trading interface. This financial injection expands upon the alliance between Nasdaq and Payward that was originally unveiled in March.
Additionally, Payward will integrate Nasdaq’s market surveillance software across its digital currency, traditional stock, tokenized equity, futures, and options marketplaces, according to the official statement.
Insiders familiar with the situation informed Bloomberg on Thursday that this funding round placed a $21 billion price tag on Kraken’s parent company. Cointelegraph reached out to Nasdaq seeking comment about the transaction but did not receive a response ahead of publication time.
This disclosure arrives a month after Nasdaq revealed intentions to buy Level Markets as part of its push toward continuous, “always-on” financial hubs. A year ago, Nasdaq submitted a tokenization framework proposal to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier this month, Kraken teamed up with the London Stock Exchange to introduce 24/5 trading capabilities for tokenized shares that mirror prominent UK equity assets starting in 2027.
Back in April, Deutsche Börse put $200 million into Payward as part of the German market operator’s strategy to deliver access to a broader selection of blockchain-anchored securities and tokenized investment vehicles.
Source: RWA.xyz
Based on metrics gathered by RWA.xyz, the current circulating capitalization of tokenized stocks sits above $2.9 billion, representing a 7.4% expansion over the preceding month.
Originally published at https://cointelegraph.com/news/nasdaq-invests-100m-kraken-parent-21b-valuation?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound.
