xStocks will power the permissionless infrastructure layer supporting Nasdaq’s issuer-sponsored equity tokens, enabling transfers seamlessly between regulated capital markets and decentralized blockchain ecosystems in eligible jurisdictions

• Payward has partnered with Nasdaq to build an equities transformation gateway that connects tokenized equity capital markets with decentralized blockchain networks, combining Nasdaq’s regulated market infrastructure with Kraken’s xStocks framework to enable tokenized equities to move fluidly between permissioned institutional markets and permissionless DeFi ecosystems.
• xStocks, Kraken’s tokenized equity product, has surpassed $25 billion in total transaction volume since launching less than a year ago (including more than $4 billion settled on-chain) with over 85,000 unique holders across supported networks, establishing it as a leading infrastructure layer for tokenized equities on blockchain.
• Nasdaq’s equity token design, expected to become operational in H1 2027, is a new framework for tokenizing equities that preserves issuer control, existing regulatory frameworks, and the underlying rights of company shares; Kraken/Payward will serve as the primary settlement layer for these transactions in eligible jurisdictions, with Payward Services providing KYC and AML onboarding compliance.

The next chapter for tokenized equities

We’re excited to announce a partnership with Nasdaq to develop next-generation infrastructure connecting tokenized equity capital markets with decentralized blockchain networks.

The initiative will build on the growing adoption of xStocks, which provide tokenized exposure to publicly traded equities across blockchain ecosystems. Since launching less than a year ago, xStocks have surpassed $25 billion in total transaction volume, including more than $4 billion settled on-chain, with over 85,000 unique holders across supported networks.

The collaboration will support the upcoming Nasdaq equity token design, a new approach to tokenizing equities that will support tokenization of equities in a manner that preserves issuer control, existing regulatory frameworks, and the underlying rights associated with company shares.

Both organizations believe tokenization has the potential to transform capital markets, modernizing how securities are traded and settled while enabling greater global access, programmability, and operational efficiency across financial infrastructure.

Building the infrastructure for tokenized equity markets

As part of the partnership, we will develop an equities transformation gateway with Nasdaq that is powered by the xStocks framework and designed to connect regulated, permissioned equity markets with permissionless decentralized financial networks in jurisdictions where xStocks are available.

Within this architecture, the xStocks framework will serve as the infrastructure layer powering the permissionless ecosystem, enabling tokenized equities to interact with open blockchain networks while remaining aligned with the underlying securities traded within regulated markets.

The gateway will allow clients in eligible jurisdictions to seamlessly swap tokenized equities between a regulated, permissioned market environment and the permissionless DeFi ecosystem, enabling assets to move fluidly between institutional trading infrastructure and global on-chain financial networks.

Connecting regulated markets with on-chain financial networks

To support the integrity of the ecosystem, Payward Services will provide KYC and AML onboarding tokenized equities through the Kraken platform, ensuring participants accessing the gateway between regulated permissioned equity markets and the permissionless decentralized ecosystem meet applicable compliance requirements in relevant jurisdictions.

In addition, in eligible jurisdictions where clients can trade xStocks today, Payward will serve as the primary and foundational settlement layer for Nasdaq equity token design transactions for an initial period, providing the infrastructure necessary to enable secure and efficient tokenized equity settlement across connected networks.

By connecting Nasdaq’s market infrastructure with the xStocks ecosystem, the gateway is designed to create interoperability between institutional trading environments and decentralized networks. This architecture allows equity securities to move fluidly between regulated capital markets and global onchain networks, while preserving issuer rights, regulatory compliance, and price integrity.

The equities transformation gateway will be available to clients in jurisdictions where xStocks are available and where Payward is appropriately registered, licensed, and approved to offer such.*

As tokenized assets continue to expand across blockchain ecosystems, Payward and its partners aim to establish infrastructure that enables regulated securities to interact with decentralized markets in a secure and interoperable way.

Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken: “Tokenization upgrades market infrastructure at the asset layer by allowing equities to exist as programmable financial instruments that can operate across both regulated capital markets and open blockchain networks. Today most equities sit inside brokerage systems where their utility is largely limited to directional exposure and, in some cases, broker-specific margin arrangements.”

“That structure fragments liquidity across venues and leaves a meaningful amount of capital static relative to its potential utility. With xStocks, our goal is to make equities natively interoperable across trading venues, financial applications and blockchain networks while preserving issuer rights regulatory protections and price integrity.”

“Bringing equities onto programmable infrastructure expands how they can function within a portfolio. Instead of simply representing exposure to a company, tokenized equities can operate as collateral within unified trading systems that support spot markets, cross-margin trading, derivatives, perpetual futures, and financing environments.”

“If collateral is represented as C and gross market exposure as E then portfolio utilization can be expressed as: U = E / C. In fragmented systems U is artificially capped because each venue requires isolated collateral. When assets become interoperable across markets the same base collateral C can support multiple strategies simultaneously and effective exposure becomes the sum of all positions: E_total = Σ E_i.”

“This increases capital utilization across trading environments while maintaining risk constraints enforced by a unified real time margin framework.”

“For international customers, tokenized equities expand access to public markets in regions where traditional brokerage distribution is limited or operationally complex. For customers operating within more developed financial markets the opportunity is capital efficiency, allowing equity collateral to participate more fluidly across trading, lending, and hedging strategies within a shared liquidity and risk framework.”

“When collateral can move programmatically between systems settlement friction decreases and capital can move more dynamically between strategies and markets.”

“Our partnership with Nasdaq is important because tokenization alone does not create markets. Markets require liquidity risk management and reliable infrastructure. By combining Nasdaq’s leadership in regulated equity markets with Payward’s digital asset infrastructure and Kraken’s global trading platform, we are helping build the liquidity layer risk engine and financial applications that allow tokenized equities to function within a more global, continuous and capital efficient financial system.”

Nasdaq expects its Nasdaq equity tokens design and related distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based services to become operational beginning in H1 2027.

Source: Kraken

Nasdaq and Boerse Stuttgart Group Partner on Tokenized Trading and Settlement

Nasdaq to connect European trading venues to Seturion’s platform for tokenized assets, enabling faster and more cost-efficient settlement 

Nasdaq announced a strategic partnership with Seturion, Boerse Stuttgart Group’s pan-European settlement platform for tokenized assets, to advance the modernization of Europe’s post-trade infrastructure.

Boerse Stuttgart Group recently launched Seturion as a settlement platform open to all market participants and is set to connect its own trading venues to the platform. It supports all asset classes on public and private DLTs, as well as cash settlement against central bank money and on-chain cash.

Through this partnership, Nasdaq’s European trading venues will connect to Seturion to facilitate trading of tokenized securities that will be settled through the platform. With an initial focus on structured products, Nasdaq and Seturion will work to expand the network of financial institutions connecting to Seturion, building an ecosystem of issuers, brokers, and other industry partners across Europe.

The collaboration is a step towards transforming Europe’s fragmented settlement landscape and improving efficiency in European capital markets through distributed ledger technology (DLT). Issuers and investors will benefit from faster, more cost-efficient settlement of the tokenized assets while preserving trusted market structures and existing client workflows. Over time, the partners are seeking to accelerate the ecosystem for trading and settling tokenized securities across Europe.

Industry Partnership Tackles Post-Trade Fragmentation 

Europe’s capital markets are highly fragmented, with numerous post-trade infrastructure providers and legal divergence across the European Union, resulting in higher costs, longer settlement cycles, and operational complexity. The partnership between Nasdaq and Seturion addresses these challenges by leveraging DLT to create a single, unified settlement platform while maintaining full alignment with European regulation, including MiFID II and the DLT Pilot Regime.

Roland Chai, President of European Market Services and Head of Digital Assets at Nasdaq, said:“European capital markets face fragmentation and efficiency challenges that limit the region’s competitive potential. Tokenization presents a transformative opportunity to address inefficiencies in settlement and securities processing workflows, while preserving the trust, stability, and regulatory rigor that underpin well-functioning markets. This partnership builds on our broader vision for the future of market infrastructure, encompassing continuous operation across trading, clearing, settlement, risk management, and collateral. As an operator of critical market infrastructure and a leading financial technology provider, Nasdaq is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.”

Dr. Matthias Voelkel, CEO of Boerse Stuttgart Group, said:“With Seturion, we are building the pan-European settlement platform for tokenized assets. As an open industry solution, Seturion contributes to overcome current national settlement infrastructure silos and to turn a unified European capital market into reality. We are delighted to welcome Nasdaq – an absolute leader in its field – as Seturion’s first partner and look forward to scaling Seturion across Europe.”

Dr. Lidia Kurt, CEO of Seturion, said:“Financial markets should no longer rely on legacy post-trade infrastructure that was not designed for a digital world. Seturion was created to fundamentally improve how transactions are settled by removing friction, reducing complexity, and enabling a new level of efficiency. Our partnership with Nasdaq marks a defining step in bringing this vision to life. Together with our partner – and many more joining us going forward – we are establishing the post-trade infrastructure of the digital age.”

Source: Nasdaq