NASDAQ Inc. (NASDAQ: NDAQ) announced plans to launch an equity token design that enables public companies to maintain control over their shares in tokenized form. The initiative aims to modernize corporate actions, proxy voting, and shareholder engagement through tokenization technology.

The design builds on NASDAQ's tokenization proposal filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2025. The proposal would enable equity securities to trade on NASDAQ markets and settle in token form through the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation.

"Tokenization has the potential to unlock the benefits of an always-on financial ecosystem – enhancing how investors access markets, how issuers engage with shareholders," said Tal Cohen, President of NASDAQ.

NASDAQ partnered with Payward, parent company of cryptocurrency platform Kraken, to develop an equities transformation gateway. The partnership aims to enable movement between regulated markets and blockchain networks while preserving issuer rights and regulatory compliance.

"Tokenization improves market infrastructure at the asset layer by enabling equities to exist as interoperable instruments across regulated financial systems and open blockchain networks while preserving issuer rights and price integrity," said Arjun Sethi, Co-CEO of Payward and Kraken.

The approach intends to integrate blockchain records directly into issuers' official share registries, providing a bridge between on-chain records and off-chain identity. Token transfers would represent transfers of underlying securities, maintaining legal and regulatory equivalence.

NASDAQ expects the program to be operational with additional distributed ledger technology-based services available to issuers starting in the first half of 2027. The company will engage with issuers, transfer agents, regulators, and market participants as the framework develops.