Nasdaq Proposes $100 Million Investment in Kraken Parent Company Payward

WHY IT MATTERS

Nasdaq is one of the most well-known stock exchanges in the world, where shares of major companies like Apple and Microsoft are traded. Kraken is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, where people buy and sell digital currencies. Think of this like a major traditional sports league investing in an esports company — it shows that established players in traditional finance see enough long-term value in the crypto industry to put significant money behind it. Payward is simply the corporate parent company that owns and operates Kraken, similar to how Alphabet is the parent company of Google. A $100 million investment from a traditional finance giant like Nasdaq could lend additional credibility to the crypto exchange space, though it does not guarantee any particular outcome for either company.