Nasdaq

Nasdaq was founded in 1971 as a wholly owned subsidiary of FINRA, which fully divested its ownership in 2006. In 2007 The Nasdaq Stock Market became an independent registered national securities exchange.⁠[1]

In February 2008 Nasdaq combined its business with OMX AB and later acquired Verafin in 2021 and Adenza in 2023.⁠[1]

In September 2025 Nasdaq proposed rule changes allowing listed stocks and exchange-traded products to trade on its main market in either traditional or tokenized form. The SEC approved the proposal on March 18, 2026. Eligibility was limited to Russell 1000 stocks and ETFs tracking major benchmarks such as the S&P 500S&P 500The S&P 500 is a U.S. large-cap equity index compiled by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It includes 500 leading companies, covers about 80% of available market capitalization and is described by S&P DJI as “widely regarded as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities.”Open the full entry and Nasdaq-100, with tokenized trades settled through the Depository Trust Company.⁠[2]

In March 2026 Nasdaq announced a partnership with PaywardPaywardPayward (Payward, Inc.) is the parent company of the cryptocurrency exchange Kraken, founded in July 2011 by Jesse Powell and others and incorporated in Wyoming, United States. Its flagship is Kraken, and its other businesses include the futures brokerage NinjaTrader, the tokenized equities platform xStocks and the index company CF Benchmarks; it serves more than 190 jurisdictions and has been led since October 2024 by co-CEOs Arjun Sethi and Dave Ripley.Open the full entry, KrakenKrakenKraken is a digital-asset trading platform founded in 2011 by Jesse Powell and Thanh Luu and launched for trading in 2013. As Payward’s flagship brand, it has expanded into spot and derivatives trading, equities, tokenized assets, custody and payments through jurisdiction-specific entities.Open the full entry’s parent, and its xStocks issuer Backed to develop an “equities transformation gateway” letting tokenized equities move between regulated and onchain markets while preserving issuer rights, compliance and price integrity. Participation is voluntary, and the program was expected to be operational in the first half of 2027.⁠[3]

On September 10, 2026, Nasdaq’s venture arm agreed to invest $100 million in Payward. The two companies plan to launch Nasdaq Equity Tokens (NETs) with Payward’s xStocks platform in the second quarter of 2027, allowing tokenized assets to trade and settle outside conventional market hours.⁠[4]

OKXICE, a 50-50 joint venture of OKXOKXOKX is a global digital-asset trading platform that began operating in 2017 under the name OKEx. Different regional entities provide trading, wallet, payment and related services; the global platform, OKCoin and locally licensed entities must be distinguished.Open the full entry and Intercontinental ExchangeICEICE (Intercontinental Exchange) is a US financial-market infrastructure company founded in 2000. It operates exchanges and clearing services, fixed-income and data businesses, and mortgage technology. Its businesses include the New York Stock Exchange; founder Jeffrey Sprecher is chair and CEO.Open the full entry, filed a notice dated October 4, 2026, under the SEC’s innovation exemption, listing tokenized versions of more than 60 U.S.-listed stocks for round-the-clock trading; it gave no launch date.⁠[5]

An October 15 notice showed nine issuers objecting to trading of their shares on the venue. Nasdaq was not among them but said it would opt its own shares out of the framework, saying it did not want its stock traded on a venue that “doesn’t show the best prices in real time.”⁠[6]

On October 15, 2026, Nasdaq completed its acquisition of LeveL Markets, an off-exchange equity execution venue operating the third-largest U.S. alternative trading system by volume. LeveL joined Nasdaq’s Digital Liquidity Networks organization and continues as a registered ATS subject to FINRA oversight.⁠[7]

Nasdaq posted third-quarter 2026 net revenue of $1.481 billion, up 13% year over year, solutions revenue of $1.172 billion and record annualized recurring revenue of $3.365 billion. Net income attributable to Nasdaq was $540 million, compared with $423 million a year earlier.⁠[8]

Nasdaq’s businesses include North American and European market services; data, index and analytics; listings; investor relations and sustainability solutions; capital markets technology such as Nasdaq Eqlipse and Nasdaq Calypso; and regulatory technology including Nasdaq AxiomSL, financial crime management technology and trade and market surveillance.⁠[9]

Adena FriedmanAdena FriedmanAdena Friedman is an American business executive who has been chief executive officer of Nasdaq since 2017 and also chair of its board since 2023, leading Nasdaq’s transformation from an exchange operator toward a financial technology business.Open the full entry is chair and chief executive officer, Tal Cohen and Nelson Griggs are presidents, and Sarah Youngwood is chief financial officer. Nasdaq says it employs 9,162 people in 38 countries.⁠[10]