On September 10, 2026, Nasdaq Ventures announced an agreement to invest $100 million in Payward, the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken.
Payward already offers "xStocks," a tokenized stock product. These tokens—such as AAPLx (linked to Apple stock) and TSLAx (linked to Tesla stock)—are backed 1:1 by actual shares and track the price movements of the underlying assets. They can be traded on Kraken and also withdrawn to compatible blockchain wallets.
Payward had already established the mechanism for handling stocks as tokens prior to this investment. Nasdaq and Payward have also been developing "Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs)" since March 2026; this announcement highlights Nasdaq's $100 million investment and the companies' commitment to further deepening their collaboration.
This article examines the differences between the currently circulating xStocks and the NETs being developed by Nasdaq and Payward.