Nasdaq Ventures will invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, extending the companies' tokenized-equities partnership. Bloomberg reported that the transaction values Payward at $21 billion, although Nasdaq did not disclose a valuation in its September 10 announcement. Payward and Nasdaq are building infrastructure through xStocks to move tokenized shares between permissioned institutional venues and public blockchain networks, while Nasdaq expects its Nasdaq Equity Tokens to launch in the second quarter of 2027. The partnership also includes a market-surveillance agreement. Payward's reported valuation sits above an estimated $10.77 billion Forge-based private-market reference and the roughly $13.3 billion implied by Deutsche Boerse's April secondary share purchase, but is close to the $20 billion valuation in its November 2025 primary financing. The investment comes as Payward expands through acquisitions, grows asset-based revenue and pursues an initial public offering no earlier than the second quarter of 2027.