Nasdaq invests $100M in Kraken parent at $21B valuation: Report

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as part of its strategy to expand into tokenized assets with 24/7 trading. The investment, disclosed in a Thursday announcement, gives Kraken the capability to offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks on its platform. This move follows Nasdaq's partnership with Payward, announced in March, and positions Payward to utilize Nasdaq's surveillance technology across various financial products.

The deal values Kraken's parent company at $21 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter. This investment aligns with Nasdaq's broader push into "always-on" markets, following its recent acquisition of Level Markets. Earlier this year, Kraken collaborated with the London Stock Exchange to enable 24/5 trading of tokenized stocks tied to UK equities, starting in 2027.

Deutsche Börse recently invested $200 million in Payward to bolster its blockchain-based securities and tokenized investment offerings. Currently, the estimated value of tokenized stocks exceeds $2.9 billion, marking a 7.4% increase over the past month.