Janus Henderson and tokenization platform Centrifuge have launched JQQQ, an issuer-sponsored fund tracking the Nasdaq-100 Index on the Stellar blockchain. The move extends the asset manager’s use of blockchain-based investment products into large-cap technology stocks and adds another example to Wall Street’s expanding tokenization efforts.
A Nasdaq-100 fund built for the blockchain
JQQQ gives investors exposure to the Nasdaq-100 through a fund issued and managed by Janus Henderson, the London-based asset manager that oversees roughly $500 billion. The Nasdaq-100 tracks 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange, including technology companies such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft.
The fund is issued on Stellar, a blockchain whose native token is XLM. Nasdaq licenses the index used by JQQQ, while Centrifuge supplies the infrastructure needed to operate the fund onchain. The companies announced the launch on Tuesday, according to reporting by CoinDesk.
The arrangement is described as issuer-sponsored because the asset manager behind the product is directly involved in creating and managing it. That sets JQQQ apart from digital products that are created by outside firms to follow the price of a stock or other security.
JQQQ is not Janus Henderson’s first tokenized index product. The firm introduced the Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Fund, known as SPXA, last year. That product was the first tokenized index fund licensed by S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Janus Henderson said its onchain investment platform now has more than $1 billion in assets across Treasuries, structured credit and equities. The addition of JQQQ broadens the platform’s coverage of traditional financial assets available through blockchain infrastructure.
How issuer-backed products differ from third-party tokens
The launch comes as financial firms and digital-asset companies debate how traditional securities should be represented on blockchains. In JQQQ’s structure, the roles are divided among the parties involved: Janus Henderson issues and manages the fund, Centrifuge provides the technology, and Nasdaq licenses the benchmark.
Third-party stock tokens can use a different structure. They may be supported by shares held in custody or designed as separate instruments that track stock prices. Depending on the product, buyers may not own the underlying shares and may not receive the rights normally associated with share ownership.
That difference has become an important part of the broader tokenization discussion. The source material notes that 22 companies recently objected to plans for blockchain-based trading of their shares on the OKX-ICE venue. The dispute has added to questions about whether the companies whose securities are being represented should participate in or approve such arrangements.
Sean Wasserman, Nasdaq’s head of index product management, said demand was growing for access to established and transparent benchmarks as investors considered digital market infrastructure. Anil Sood, Centrifuge’s chief strategy and growth officer, said tokenization becomes more useful when assets can also serve as components within an onchain financial system.
In practical terms, an onchain fund is an investment product represented and administered using blockchain-based infrastructure. That can make it compatible with other blockchain applications, although any use of fund holdings as loan collateral or their movement between applications would depend on regulatory requirements and support from the relevant platforms.
Tokenization moves beyond bonds and cash products
Wall Street’s tokenization activity has so far included products such as U.S. Treasuries, money market funds and private credit. The launch of JQQQ takes that effort further into equity-linked investments and a benchmark associated with some of the world’s most prominent technology companies.
The product also illustrates a shift from simply creating digital representations of existing investments toward funds designed to operate on blockchain networks from the outset. Janus Henderson’s expanding onchain platform, which now includes equities as well as Treasuries and structured credit, reflects that broader development.
The significance of the launch lies not only in the index being offered, but also in the parties responsible for it. Janus Henderson remains the fund issuer and manager, Nasdaq is connected to the benchmark through its licensing role, and Centrifuge handles the blockchain infrastructure. That combination gives JQQQ a structure distinct from tokens launched without the involvement of the issuer or index provider.
Moneyiar market picture
Moneyiar market data recorded on October 25, 2026, showed Stellar’s XLM at $0.1685606444, down 1.14% over 24 hours and 4.54% over seven days. The data was recorded at 22:39 +03:30.
Other assets in the same Moneyiar snapshot were:
- Ethereum Name Service (ENS): $5.2749448818, down 0.45% in 24 hours and 2.02% over seven days, recorded at 22:38 +03:30.
- Telcoin (TEL): $0.0014157918, down 0.97% in 24 hours and 7.28% over seven days, recorded at 22:38 +03:30.
- Decentraland (MANA): $0.0782023179, down 1% in 24 hours and 6.08% over seven days, recorded at 22:39 +03:30.
These figures describe the market prices supplied by Moneyiar at those times and do not measure the performance of JQQQ, which had just been launched.
