Nasdaq Invests $100M in Kraken’s Parent Company at $21B Valuation

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, deepening its push into round-the-clock tokenized asset trading. As part of the arrangement, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks directly on its platform, building on a partnership between the two companies first announced earlier this year. The investment reportedly values Kraken’s parent at $21 billion.

Part of a Broader Tokenization Strategy

The move follows Nasdaq’s plans announced last month to acquire another firm as part of its expansion into always-on trading markets, alongside a tokenization proposal the exchange filed with US securities regulators roughly a year ago. Kraken has been active on multiple fronts recently, having partnered with the London Stock Exchange earlier this month to offer extended trading hours for tokenized versions of major UK equities starting in 2027.

Growing Interest From Traditional Exchanges

This marks the second major investment from a traditional exchange operator into Kraken’s parent company this year, following a $200 million investment from Deutsche Börse in April as part of its own plans to expand into blockchain based securities. According to industry data, the total value of tokenized stocks currently distributed across markets has surpassed $2.9 billion, growing steadily over the past month.