Nasdaq Ventures agreed on September 10, 2026, to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, at a reported $21 billion valuation. The agreement represented about 66% of the $151 million in disclosed crypto financing announced from September 5–11, although the companies described it as an agreement rather than a completed payment. The investment deepens a partnership to develop Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs, issuer-sponsored blockchain representations of Nasdaq-listed stocks planned for launch in the second quarter of 2027. NETs are intended to preserve voting rights, governance protections and legal standing associated with traditional shares while supporting 24/7 trading and on-chain settlement. Payward’s xStocks platform is expected to provide primary distribution infrastructure, and Payward plans to deploy Nasdaq market-surveillance technology across crypto, equities, tokenized equities, futures and options. The arrangement differs from synthetic tokenized-stock products, including existing xStocks, which generally provide economic exposure rather than direct shareholder rights.