Nasdaq said it is expanding its relationship with Payward, the parent company of crypto exchange Kraken, through a planned $100 million investment from Nasdaq Ventures and a broader collaboration around tokenized stocks. The companies also signed a new market surveillance agreement as part of the deal. The tokenized stock initiative is scheduled to begin between April and June next year and will be led by Nasdaq’s market business unit, the Digital Liquidity Network, or DLN. According to the report cited by Techub News, the partnership is designed to pair Nasdaq’s market infrastructure with Payward’s crypto technology as both sides explore how traditional financial assets can be combined with blockchain systems. Techub News attributed the information to CoinPost.

VTB, Russia's second-largest bank, plans to launch direct Bitcoin trading for high-net-worth clients, potentially becoming the country's first bank to offer such services. While crypto trading remains unregulated in Russia, the central bank has signaled a shift toward regulation, and VTB expects to roll out full services by 2026. Meanwhile, Kremlin adviser Maxim Oreshkin proposes classifying industrial crypto mining as a formal export sector, arguing that large volumes of mined Bitcoin effectively leave the economy. Russia legalized industrial mining in 2024, producing an estimated 55,000 BTC in 2023 and 35,000 BTC in 2024 after the halving. Regulatory oversight is tightening, including registration requirements and corporate taxes of up to 25%.