Nasdaq plans tokenized stocks with shareholder rights by 2027

Nasdaq isn’t just talking about putting stocks on the blockchain anymore. It’s writing nine-figure checks to make it happen. Nasdaq Ventures invested $100 million in Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, at a $21 billion valuation. The goal: launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens, or NETs, in the second quarter of 2027, giving shareholders the same voting rights, governance protections, and legal standing they’d get from holding traditional shares. What Nasdaq is actually building NETs are designed as blockchain-based representations of stocks listed on Nasdaq. They’ll support 24/7 trading and on-chain settlements, meaning markets wouldn’t shut down at 4 PM Eastern or take two days to finalize a trade. The critical design choice here is what Nasdaq calls an “issuer-sponsored” model. Public companies will maintain control over their ownership records and corporate governance. If you hold a NET, you’re not holding a derivative or a synthetic wrapper that roughly tracks a stock’s price. You hold the real thing, with the legal rights attached. Most existing tokenized stock products are synthetic, meaning you’re essentially holding a financial contract that mirrors a stock’s price...