Nasdaq, Inc. joined BNY Mellon, iCapital, and S&P Global in a $50 million funding round for Digital Asset, the company that builds the Canton Network, a public, permissionless blockchain designed for institutional finance. The investment, announced on December 4, 2025, follows a prior $135 million round in June and positions Nasdaq to deepen its tokenization capabilities across its global client base.
Digital Asset’s Canton Network already hosts more than $6 trillion of assets on‑chain and serves over 600 institutional participants. By securing a stake in the platform, Nasdaq gains direct access to a scalable, privacy‑enabled settlement layer that can support tokenized bonds, equities, money‑market funds, and alternative investments. The partnership builds on Nasdaq’s earlier collaborations with Digital Asset, including the integration of the DAML smart‑contract language into Nasdaq’s Marketplace Services Platform in 2021 and the deployment of Canton technology within Nasdaq Calypso in early 2025.
The investment aligns with Nasdaq’s broader strategy to transition from a transaction‑based exchange to a technology platform. Management has highlighted that the deal will accelerate the launch of tokenized securities on Nasdaq’s exchange, a move that could open new revenue streams from real‑time settlement, market‑data services, and platform licensing. Tal Cohen, Nasdaq’s president, noted that combining Nasdaq’s market expertise with Digital Asset’s infrastructure will “unlock new efficiencies, better manage risk, and confidently participate in the evolving digital‑asset ecosystem.”
Digital Asset’s CEO Yuval Rooz emphasized the significance of the round, stating that the addition of BNY Mellon, iCapital, S&P Global, and Nasdaq “marks another milestone in the evolution of both Digital Asset and Canton.” The partnership is expected to accelerate the adoption of tokenized solutions among Nasdaq’s institutional clients, reinforcing the exchange’s competitive moat in the rapidly converging traditional‑finance and decentralized‑finance landscape.
Nasdaq’s tokenization push is already underway, with a proposal filed with the SEC to allow tokenized stocks and exchange‑traded products to trade on its platform, targeting approval by Q3 2026. The Digital Asset investment provides the necessary infrastructure to support that initiative, positioning Nasdaq to capture a growing share of the digital‑asset market and diversify its revenue base beyond traditional trading fees.
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