$100 Million Entry Ticket: Nasdaq Invests in Kraken
- On September 10, Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward (Kraken's parent company) through Nasdaq Ventures, extending their tokenized stock partnership to equity-level commitment.
- Kraken will distribute Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) on its platform starting in Q2 2027, with NETs retaining shareholder voting rights—distinguishing them from most tokenized stock products that only provide price exposure.
- In exchange, Payward agreed to adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance system across all trading scenarios including spot crypto, stocks, tokenized stocks, futures, and options.
- Deutsche Börse invested $200 million for ~1.5% of Payward in April 2026; Intercontinental Exchange invested $200 million in OKX in March 2026 and formed a 50-50 joint venture (OKXICE) in June 2026.
- Traditional exchanges are buying equity stakes in existing crypto distribution channels rather than building their own; Kraken's xStocks has accumulated over $40 billion in trading volume and 200,000+ holders.
Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward, Kraken's parent company, on September 10 through its strategic investment arm, deepening a partnership that began with tokenized stock collaboration in March 2026. Under the arrangement, Kraken will distribute Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) starting in Q2 2027, with these tokens retaining full shareholder voting rights—a key distinction from most tokenized stock products that offer only price exposure. In return, Payward will integrate Nasdaq's market surveillance system across all trading operations: spot crypto, stocks, tokenized stocks, futures, and options.
This investment reflects a broader industry shift among major exchanges. Deutsche Börse invested $200 million for approximately 1.5% of Payward in April 2026, following a December 2025 partnership announcement; Intercontinental Exchange (parent of NYSE) invested $200 million in OKX in March 2026 and formed a 50-50 joint venture called OKXICE in June 2026 to provide U.S. and overseas clients access to ICE futures and NYSE tokenized stocks. Rather than building crypto distribution networks from scratch, traditional exchanges are acquiring equity stakes in established crypto platforms that already possess significant user bases and trading volume.
Kraken's xStocks platform has accumulated over $40 billion in trading volume with more than 200,000 holders, making it an attractive distribution channel. The London Stock Exchange also announced plans to tokenize stocks of its 100 largest companies and distribute them on this platform. This division of labor—with traditional exchanges retaining issuance rights and regulatory relationships while crypto exchanges control distribution to crypto-native users—is emerging as a potential industry model, though it remains unproven at scale. The success of NETs in 2027 and seamless on-chain voting rights transfer could prompt replication by other major exchanges.
纳斯达克投资Kraken：1亿美元的入场券
纳斯达克于9月10日通过其战略投资部门Nasdaq Ventures向Kraken母公司Payward投资1亿美元，深化了自2026年3月开始的代币化股票合作。根据协议，Kraken将从2027年第二季度起分发纳斯达克股权代币（NETs），这些代币保留完整的股东投票权——这是与大多数仅提供价格敞口的代币化股票产品的关键区别。作为交换，Payward将在所有交易操作中整合纳斯达克的市场监管系统：现货加密货币、股票、代币化股票、期货和期权。
这项投资反映了主要交易所的更广泛转变。德意志交易所在2026年4月投资2亿美元获得Payward约1.5%股份，此前在2025年12月宣布了合作协议；洲际交易所（纽约证券交易所母公司）在2026年3月投资OKX 2亿美元，并在6月成立50-50合资企业OKXICE，为美国和海外客户提供ICE期货和纽交所代币化股票的访问权。传统交易所不是从零开始构建加密分发网络，而是在已拥有大量用户基础和交易量的成熟加密平台中获取股权。
Kraken的xStocks平台已累计交易量超400亿美元，拥有20万多持有人，成为具有吸引力的分发渠道。伦敦证券交易所也宣布计划将其市值最大的100家上市公司的股票代币化，并在该平台上分发。这种分工模式——传统交易所保留发行权和监管关系，加密交易所控制对加密原生用户的分发——正在成为潜在的行业模式，但其大规模应用仍未得到验证。NETs在2027年的成功和链上投票权的无缝转移可能会促使其他主要交易所复制这一模式。