Nasdaq Ventures has committed $100 million to invest in Kraken parent company Payward, as reported by Bloomberg on September 10. The investment values Payward at $21 billion, adding significant financial backing to their existing relationship established in March. According to Nasdaq President Tal Cohen, the partnership will help build a more connected financial system while maintaining "trust, transparency, and integrity." The transaction builds on work between Nasdaq and Payward on tokenized equities, with the companies planning to connect Nasdaq's proposed Nasdaq Equity Tokens design with Payward's xStocks infrastructure. Payward will also adopt Nasdaq's market surveillance technology across its trading venues, with Nasdaq expecting to launch its equity-token design in the second quarter of 2027. The Payward agreement accounted for about 66% of the week's $151 million disclosed total, making it the clear leader in crypto VC funding during September 5-11, 2026.
Oak HC/FT led Latitude's $35 million Series A on September 9, focusing on stablecoin-based cross-border payments infrastructure. The company builds infrastructure that uses stablecoins for settlement while delivering payments to recipients through local banking and payment systems. Oak described Latitude's product as a single interface for businesses sending money across markets, with the investment case focusing on turning stablecoin transfers into usable local-currency payments, including banking connections, liquidity and compliance. Latitude has secured money-transmitter licenses or approvals across 45 U.S. markets, providing a practical U.S. angle for building regulated routes for businesses originating payments in the United States and needing to pay recipients abroad. The $35 million figure refers to the new Series A, with Crypto Fundraising also listing an earlier $8 million Latitude financing in March that is outside this roundup.
The partnership centers on Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs), which are designed to represent shares of publicly traded companies in digital form while preserving shareholder rights, regulatory protections, and corporate actions tied to the underlying security. Unlike cryptocurrency tokens that merely track a stock's price, Nasdaq's planned tokens are intended to function as true digital securities. Payward Co-CEO Arjun Sethi argues that blockchain settlement could remove some of the waiting and collateral requirements built into traditional stock clearing, stating "Onchain settlement removes the wait." The companies plan to move Nasdaq Equity Tokens onto "rails that do not close, with shareholder rights intact." Payward will adopt Nasdaq's market-surveillance technology across cryptocurrency, equities, tokenized equities, futures, and options, while Nasdaq plans to work with Payward's xStocks infrastructure to connect regulated securities markets with public blockchain networks in jurisdictions where the products are permitted.
Payward has demonstrated strong financial performance alongside its strategic partnerships. The company reported $508 million in adjusted revenue for the second quarter of 2026, representing a 17% increase from the previous year, along with $310 billion in platform volume and $40 billion in assets on its platform. The company has also expanded through strategic acquisitions spanning tokenized equities, derivatives, stablecoin payments and token infrastructure. Payward has secured significant institutional backing, with Citadel Securities investing $200 million at a $20 billion valuation in November 2025, while Deutsche Börse invested $200 million in April 2026 for an approximately 1.5% fully diluted stake. The company has also confidentially filed for a U.S. initial public offering in November 2025.
The stablecoin market has experienced significant growth, with the total market value reaching $305.25 billion on September 10, 2026, as reported by Bitcoin.com News. Tether's USDT dominates this market with 60.07% market share, while PayPal's PYUSD ranks as the eighth largest stablecoin by market cap with a valuation of approximately $2.814 billion. According to May Zabaneh, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Crypto at PayPal, the stablecoin market is "maturing fast," with PYUSDx designed to enable companies to build their own branded stablecoins without constructing infrastructure from scratch. The immediate milestone is the planned second-quarter 2027 launch of Nasdaq Equity Tokens, which would put the companies' vision of continuously accessible tokenized stock markets to a much larger test. The partnership reflects a wider push by established exchanges to bring securities onto blockchain infrastructure rather than build every component themselves, with Deutsche Börse already owning a stake in Payward, the London Stock Exchange working with xStocks, and other major exchange operators pursuing their own digital-market strategies.
