Nasdaq invested $100 million in Payward as part of its push toward tokenized stock products with round-the-clock trading. Nasdaq has invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, as part of the New York electronic bourse’s expansion into tokenized assets. Nasdaq’s venture arm made a $100 million investment in Payward, the exchange operator revealed in a Thursday announcement. As part of the deal, Kraken will offer tokenized versions of Nasdaq-listed stocks on its own platform. The investment builds on Nasdaq’s partnership with Payward announced in March. The investment valued Kraken’s parent company at $21 billion, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Thursday. Cointelegraph approached Nasdaq for comment on the matter but did not receive a reply before publishing time. Read more
Nasdaq’s acquisition of the third-largest US alternative trading system comes as the exchange operator expands into tokenized securities and longer trading hours. Nasdaq has agreed to acquire LeveL Markets, the third-largest alternative trading system in the US by trading volume, as part of its push into tokenized and always-on markets. According to Nasdaq, LeveL Markets processes hundreds of millions of shares daily and serves more than 2,500 buy- and sell-side clients. The venue will operate within Nasdaq’s new Digital Liquidity Networks unit, led by Roland Chai, who has overseen the company’s digital assets strategy since earlier this year. Nasdaq first invested in LeveL Markets in 2021. The platform has since grown to execute trades across more than 7,000 symbols daily and serves more than 300 institutional buy-side firms, with average daily trading volume increasing 56% in 2025. Read more
The Bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure company closed at $62.90, giving it a market capitalization of about $2.8 billion after its direct listing. Ionic Digital shares climbed about 26% from their opening price in their Nasdaq debut Tuesday after the Celsius-linked Bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure company completed its direct listing. The shares opened at $50 and closed at $62.90, giving Ionic a market capitalization of about $2.8 billion based on approximately 44.9 million shares outstanding, according to its registration statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Ionic was formed in 2024 to acquire Celsius Mining’s assets through the bankrupt crypto lender’s restructuring and has since expanded into AI and high-performance computing infrastructure. Read more