Nasdaq is backing Payward with $100 million to help bring tokenized equities to market and to stand up the plumbing and oversight tools needed to run them. The move builds on their earlier pilot of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs). In this next phase, the two will create the backbone needed to issue and exchange tokenized stocks - assets Nasdaq characterizes as digital versions of listed securities, other assets, or value recorded on a blockchain network.
The aim is to launch in the second quarter of 2027. Importantly, holders of tokenized assets do not obtain direct ownership of the underlying assets.
Payward intends to deploy Nasdaq's market surveillance systems on all of its marketplaces, covering both crypto and tokenized equities. Kraken is also looking beyond crypto to expand into stocks, derivatives, and other traditional products as it seeks to turn its exchange into a more comprehensive, multi asset trading platform. Bloomberg, which first reported the deal on Thursday, said the investment lifts Payward's valuation to $21 billion.
Nasdaq president Tal Cohen put it this way: "The next era of market evolution will be defined by how efficiently and seamlessly capital and assets move across the financial system with durable liquidity." He added, "Expanding our relationship with Payward reflects our conviction that the company can play an important role in building the infrastructure that supports this evolution. This partnership advances our work on Nasdaq Equity Tokens and helps build a more connected financial system while preserving the trust, transparency and integrity that underpin capital formation."
This fits a bigger Wall Street push to bring tokenized securities into the mainstream. Nasdaq is positioning for a future where company stock could live on blockchains in parallel with today's market infrastructure. If that parallel stack comes together with Payward, trading and settlement could get faster and markets could run continuously.
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The timing also lands amid a spat between Robinhood and AMC over tokenized versions of AMC shares offered without AMC's involvement. AMC argues these products create a synthetic market that offers economic exposure but not shareholder rights. On CNBC's "Squawk Box" Wednesday, Robinhood defended its stance, asserting that it and other firms may lawfully develop and market financial instruments tied to public stocks.
If tokenized equities arrive as planned, expect more around-the-clock access and potentially quicker settlement for stock-like exposure. The trade off to watch: what rights you actually get with a token compared with owning the underlying shares.
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