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4 clusters · 28 sources · 26 days · First seen · Last updated

Payward expansion into tokenized equities and financial tech

Overview

Payward, the parent company of the Kraken cryptocurrency exchange, is expanding its efforts to develop infrastructure for tokenized equities through strategic partnerships. Initially, the London Stock Exchange announced a partnership with Payward to tokenize the 100 largest companies listed in London. These assets, referred to as ‘xStocks’, are designed to be backed 1:1 by underlying shares to provide 24/7 trading access to international investors, though they do not grant traditional shareholder rights. Following this, Nasdaq Ventures invested $100 million in Payward to support the development of Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs). This collaboration focuses on creating blockchain-based representations of publicly traded securities, with an expected market availability in the second quarter of 2027. Unlike xStocks, NETs are designed to provide holders with actual shareholder rights, including voting and governance protections. Expanding its ecosystem, Payward has partnered with Ledger to integrate xStocks into the Ledger Wallet, allowing eligible users to trade hundreds of tokenized U.S. and international equities through a self-custody model. Payward reported that xStocks has already surpassed $42 billion in total transaction volume, though the assets remain unavailable to U.S. persons. By late 2026, Payward began investing billions to transform into a unified financial infrastructure platform centered on a single ledger system. This strategy includes the $1.5 billion acquisition of NinjaTrader to establish a U.S. futures brokerage and a $550 million acquisition of Bitnomial for regulated clearinghouse and futures infrastructure. The company is also reportedly preparing to acquire a European bank. While Payward submitted a confidential IPO application in November 2025, it does not expect to list before the second quarter of 2027. As of late 2026, Payward has organized its operations into four pillars: Kraken trading, banking, asset management, and Payward Services, which provides institutional infrastructure to external clients.

Entities

Kraken · Payward · London Stock Exchange · Nasdaq · Arjun Sethi

Timeline

  1. [BUSINESS] 9 sources
    Payward invests billions to build unified financial infrastructure

    Payward, parent of Kraken, is spending billions on acquisitions and partnerships with Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange to build a unified global financial infrastructure for digital and traditional assets.

  2. [TECHNOLOGY] 2 sources
    Payward and Ledger partner to integrate xStocks into Ledger Wallet

    Payward and Ledger have integrated xStocks into Ledger Wallet, enabling eligible users to trade hundreds of tokenized U.S. and international equities via self-custody with 24/7 market access.

  3. [BUSINESS] 11 sources
    Nasdaq to invest $100 million in Payward to develop tokenized stocks

    Nasdaq Ventures will invest $100 million in Payward, parent of Kraken, to develop tokenized stocks (NETs) for 24/7 trading, with a target launch in Q2 2027 and integrated Nasdaq market surveillance.

  4. [BUSINESS] 11 sources
    London Stock Exchange and Payward partner to tokenize top 100 UK stocks

    The London Stock Exchange and Payward are partnering to launch tokenized versions of the 100 largest UK-listed stocks, enabling 24/7 global trading via the xStocks framework.

Sources

bitcoinbazis.hu · bitcoinethereumnews.com · bitcoinke.io · bittimes.net · blockchainseoul.kr · blockmedia.co.kr · coindeskjapan.com · cointrust.com · criptotendencia.com · crypto.news · cryptobriefing.com · cryptoninjas.net · cryptoslate.com · detlionblood32.wordpress.com · globalcryptopress.com · institutionalassetmanager.co.uk · kriptomagazin.hu · kryptolehti.fi · letsmoney.com.br · merca2.es · neweconomy.jp · news.bitcoin.com · pulse2.com · pymnts.com · spacemoney.com.br · territoriobitcoin.com · tokenpost.com · tronweekly.com

This summary has been updated 4 times: see revision history