Nasdaq Invests Big in Kraken's Parent Company Payward

Nasdaq Inc. is investing $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange @krakenfx, according to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter. The deal places Payward's valuation at $21 billion, marking a significant step in the convergence of traditional capital markets and crypto-native infrastructure.

A Strategic Bet on Crypto Market Infrastructure

The investment is more than a financial transaction. The move comes as @Nasdaq continues to build infrastructure to support tokenized stock trading. The two companies have been working toward this point for months. Payward and Nasdaq launched a tokenization-focused partnership in March 2026, with the collaboration centering on developing an "equities transformation gateway" that joins tokenized equity capital markets with decentralized blockchain networks.

The partnership is designed to combine Nasdaq's regulated market infrastructure with Kraken's xStocks framework, allowing tokenized equities to flow between permissioned institutional markets and permissionless DeFi spaces. Nasdaq's equity token design is expected to become operational in H1 2027, with Payward serving as the primary settlement layer for these transactions in eligible jurisdictions.

Payward's Growing Profile Ahead of a Potential IPO

Nasdaq's direct investment adds institutional credibility to Payward at a critical moment. The firm has accelerated its acquisition push in recent months, picking up derivatives exchange Bitnomial and stablecoin company Reap. Payward's largest transaction came in 2025 with the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader, which significantly expanded Kraken's presence in US derivatives markets and futures trading infrastructure.

Separately, on September 1, Payward agreed to tokenize the 100 largest London-listed companies into xStocks, tokens backed one for one by real shares, covering investors in over 110 countries. Payward counts $40 billion in xStocks volume since June 2025 and more than 200,000 holders.

On the IPO front, Payward previously submitted a draft S-1 registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission confidentially in November 2025, marking the first step toward a potential public listing. The company later paused its IPO plans amid unfavorable market conditions, though sources say it remains interested in going public once conditions improve. Nasdaq's direct investment could help re-energize that timeline by lending the exchange operator's regulatory and market credibility to the process.

Sources:
PANews: Nasdaq Invests $100 Million in Kraken Parent Company Payward, Valuing It at $21 Billion
Bloomberg: Nasdaq Plans Equity-Token Design, Partnering With Kraken Parent
Kraken Blog: Payward Partners With Nasdaq to Develop xStocks-Powered Gateway