Nasdaq and Payward, the parent company of Kraken, entered a partnership on March 9, 2026, to develop infrastructure for tokenized equities. The collaboration focuses on enabling the movement of tokenized stocks between regulated markets and blockchain platforms, with a launch expected in the first half of 2027.
The agreement is a technology arrangement rather than an equity investment. Confusion regarding a potential $100 million investment by Nasdaq at a $21 billion valuation may stem from a separate $100 million credit facility provided to Payward’s NinjaTrader unit by Gulf Partners Group.
Payward’s xStocks product has reached over $25 billion in total transaction volume, with more than $4 billion processed on-chain. In Q2 2026, the company reported adjusted revenue of $508 million, a 17% year-over-year increase, and platform assets totaling $40 billion.
The company previously raised $800 million at a valuation of approximately $20 billion and filed for an IPO in November 2025. Deutsche Börse holds a 1.5% stake in Payward, acquired for $200 million. The IPO is currently postponed until mid-2027 due to market conditions.
Payward is actively pursuing acquisitions of companies including Backed Finance, Magna, and Bitnomial. The value of these individual transactions is reported to reach up to $600 million each.
