Overview
- Nasdaq and Payward will build an issuer‑sponsored equity token design and an equities transformation gateway that links regulated venues with permissionless blockchains using the xStocks platform.
- Tokenized shares will be one‑to‑one backed and legally equivalent to traditional stock, preserving voting and dividend rights with a token transfer representing a transfer of the underlying security.
- Both tokenized and conventional shares are intended to settle through the Depository Trust, keeping the two forms interchangeable on existing market rails.
- Kraken will serve as the primary distribution channel outside the United States, focusing on Europe and leveraging xStocks’ reported roughly $25 billion in volume, about $4 billion settled on‑chain, and more than 85,000 holders.
- Nasdaq says the framework builds on its September 2025 SEC filing and aligns with the SEC’s 2026 staff guidance, with separate European connectivity also announced through Boerse Stuttgart’s Seturion platform.