Nasdaq partners with Kraken to offer tokenised stock trading
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The news: New York exchange Nasdaq Inc said that it will partner with crypto exchange Kraken and other issuing companies to build out its plan to offer tokenised stocks through its exchange.
The context: The exchange operator said its plans for tokenising stocks and exchange-traded products will focus on corporate governance and simplifying or automating proxy voting or corporate actions like dividend payments.
The bourse said that Payward, parent company of Kraken, will design a gateway for tokenised equities to move between regulated markets and on-chain markets.
Nasdaq said it expects the program to be operational, with additional distributed ledger technology-based services to be available to issuers starting in H1 2027.
As part of the strategy, Kraken will become a distribution partner to Nasdaq, making the one-to-one tokenised versions of public company stocks available to Kraken’s customers in Europe and around the world. The initiative will be open to all issuers, including those not listed on the Nasdaq.
Nasdaq said the initiative builds upon Nasdaq’s tokenisation proposal, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2025, in which Nasdaq proposed enabling equity securities — including, but not limited to the issuer-sponsored tokens — to trade on its markets and to settle in token form through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.
What they said: Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Payward and Kraken said in a statement: “For international customers, this expands access to public markets where traditional distribution has been limited. For U.S. customers, it will enable greater collateral efficiency and capital mobility across trading and financing workflows. Our partnership with Nasdaq helps build the liquidity layer and applications needed for tokenized equities to function within a global, always-on market structure.”
