Janus Henderson brings Nasdaq-100 onchain with tokenized fund JQQQ
What's the deal? Janus HendersonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Centrifuge have launched JQQQ, the first tokenized fund licensed to track the Nasdaq-100 Index. Issued on the Stellar blockchain using Centrifuge's technology, it is available only to eligible non-US professional investors, with a minimum investment of $100,000.
How it works: Janus Henderson, which manages roughly $500 billion in assets, runs the fund, while Nasdaq Global Indexes licenses the index. The Nasdaq-100 tracks 100 of the largest nonfinancial companies on the Nasdaq, a benchmark weighted toward technology.
Why it matters: JQQQ is an issuer-sponsored fund, not a third-party token that merely mirrors stock prices. That distinction makes it a step toward bringing regulated index-fund exposure onto public blockchain infrastructure.
Why now? Nasdaq widened its index licensing earlier in 2026. JQQQ follows Janus Henderson and Centrifuge's earlier tokenized S&P 500-linked product, SPXA, extending the pair's push into licensed onchain equity benchmarks.
What's the endgame? Native onchain issuance lets fund shares plug into other blockchain applications, potentially supporting automated portfolio management and use in collateral or lending arrangements. Janus Henderson says its onchain platform now spans more than $1 billion across Treasuries, structured credit and equities.
What they said: Nick Cherney, Janus Henderson's head of innovation, said the partnership supported the firm's effort "to expand its technology capabilities and respond to changing investor needs."
The signal: Big asset managers are increasingly building investment products directly for blockchains rather than tokenizing existing securities after the fact. JQQQ's reach may stay limited at launch — it targets eligible investors and disclosed no fund size or trading volume — but it marks another established benchmark moving onchain.
Read more: cointrust.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
