US stock exchange giant Nasdaq has reportedly formed a strategic partnership with Winklevoss-founded crypto exchange Gemini to gain access to its custody and staking services.
Gemini has secured Nasdaq as a strategic investor as the company moves forward with its initial public offering (IPO) debut on the stock exchange, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The crypto exchange expects to raise up to $317 million through the IPO and has arranged for Nasdaq to purchase $50 million in shares via a private placement concurrent with the offering, the sources said.
The investment is part of a strategic partnership that would enable Nasdaq to integrate Gemini’s custody and staking, while Gemini’s institutional clients would have access to Nasdaq’s Calypso platform to manage and track trading collateral.
Nasdaq expands tokenization push
The strategic partnership plans are subject to market conditions and possible changes, as mentioned by the sources.
The report came shortly after Nasdaq announced a major move into tokenized securities, or blockchain-based versions of traditional stocks, on Monday.
The stock exchange filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to amend securities rules to enable the trading of securities in tokenized form. Nasdaq argued that such products should be available on established and regulated market players, opposing its “siloed trading venues.” It also expressed concerns over numerous offerings of tokenized US stocks trading in Europe.
Gemini has been operating such an offering in Europe, rolling out tokenized stocks for shares like Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR) locally in June.
“Traditional financial rails are hard to access and in need of modernization,” the company said at the time.
Coinpectra sought comment from Nasdaq and Gemini but received no response before publication.
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