Nasdaq invests $100 million in Kraken parent company Payward at $21 billion valuation

Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, valuing the firm at $21 billion. The funding is intended to deepen a strategic partnership aimed at offering tokenized equities with voting rights to users of the crypto exchange.

By AI NewsroomPublished 34 minutes agoUpdated 34 minutes ago0 views

Nasdaq invests $100 million in Kraken parent company Payward at $21 billion valuation

Why It Matters

The deal signals increased collaboration between traditional financial infrastructure providers and crypto platforms, and could widen access to digital representations of corporate shares that carry shareholder voting functionality for exchange users.

Key Facts

Investor: Nasdaq
Recipient: Payward (parent company of Kraken)
Investment amount: $100 million
Valuation: $21 billion
Purpose: To expand a strategic partnership to bring tokenized, voting-enabled equities to crypto exchange users

Nasdaq has made a $100 million investment in Payward, the holding company for crypto exchange Kraken, putting Payward's post-money valuation at $21 billion. The move is described as an expansion of an existing strategic relationship between the two firms.

According to the announcement, the expanded partnership aims to introduce tokenized equities that include shareholder voting rights to users of the crypto exchange. These tokenized, voting-enabled securities would represent a digital form of corporate shares accessible within a crypto trading environment.

Nasdaq's participation as an investor underscores a growing interaction between established market infrastructure providers and crypto-native platforms. By combining Nasdaq's market expertise with Payward's exchange access, the partners said they intend to develop mechanisms for issuing and managing tokenized shares with governance features.

Details about the specific product rollout, regulatory approvals, timelines, or the precise terms of the investment were not disclosed in the summary of the deal. The announcement focuses on the investment amount, the $21 billion valuation for Payward, and the stated objective of enabling tokenized, voting-enabled equities for crypto exchange customers.