Traditional exchanges seize crypto gateway: Nasdaq bets on Kraken, ICE partners with OKX

BlockBeats news, September 10: Nasdaq today announced an investment of $100 million through its investment arm in Payward, the parent company of Kraken, valuing Payward at $21 billion after the deal. Meanwhile, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and OKX announced in June the formation of a 50:50 joint venture, planning to operate as a U.S.-registered broker-dealer and futures commission merchant upon regulatory approval, to connect OKX users to ICE futures markets and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) tokenized equity market.

Both deals point to the same thing: traditional exchanges are no longer satisfied with "researching on-chain" but are directly acquiring entry points, licenses, and on-chain settlement capabilities.

Deutsche Börse already acquired approximately 1.5% of Payward for $200 million in April; the London Stock Exchange is also advancing xStocks tokenization of London-listed shares with Payward. Nasdaq, NYSE, Deutsche Börse, and LSE are almost simultaneously treating crypto platforms as the next-generation market infrastructure, not competitors.

Payward completed an $800 million funding round in November 2025 at a $20 billion valuation and confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC, but its IPO has been delayed to as early as Q2 2027. Nasdaq's stake at a $21 billion valuation marks a new high for the company in nearly a year and shows traditional exchanges are willing to pay a premium for tokenization channels.

Regulatory approval remains the hurdle. The ICE-OKX joint venture requires U.S. broker-dealer and FCM licenses; Nasdaq's equity tokenization plan must also align with existing securities frameworks. But the direction is clear: Wall Street doesn't want to watch crypto from the sidelines—it wants to make crypto its own trading hours, clearing network, and retail gateway.