Nasdaq Designs Tokenized Stock System to Preserve Shareholder Rights Globally
Nasdaq announced a new stock tokenization design that gives listed U. S. companies greater control over tokenized shares, including proxy voting, corporate actions and governance rights. Monday at 12: 00 am ET, nasdaq said the plan pairs DTCC-settled tokenized settlement with gateway partners Payward and Seturion, a move that could bring tokenized equities closer to regulated trading.
Nasdaq’s Design Preserves CUSIP Identifiers and Shareholder Rights
Nasdaq’s proposal emphasizes that tokenized equities must retain the same legal rights and CUSIP identifier as traditional shares, not create a separate ‘shadow’ market. The design specifies that tokenized and regular shares would share an order book and shareholder rights, while settlement in tokenized form would be conducted through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.
Payward and Kraken to Build a Global Gateway for Tokenized Securities
Payward, the parent company of Kraken, will design a gateway and liquidity portal to facilitate daily flows of tokenized stocks between regulated markets and on-chain markets. Kraken is expected to distribute one-to-one tokenized versions of listed stocks and ETFs to customers outside the United States, and the framework targets an early 2027 launch that still needs SEC approval.
Seturion Partnership Links Nasdaq’s European Venues to Tokenized Settlement
Nasdaq announced a deep partnership with Seturion, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange Group’s pan-European tokenized asset settlement platform, to connect Nasdaq’s European listing venues to officially settled tokenized securities. That arrangement is intended to allow tokenized securities to be traded and settled through an established European settlement platform while keeping market infrastructure aligned with existing rules.
Nasdaq extended a filing it submitted to the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2025 that describes how tokenized securities could trade alongside traditional shares on the same order book. SEC staff said in January 2026 that tokenized securities remain subject to federal securities laws, a regulatory constraint the proposal is designed to satisfy.
Targeted timing remains the next milestone: the framework aims for an early 2027 launch but requires SEC clearance before going live, with no final date set as of Monday at 12: 00 am ET.
