Janus Henderson and Centrifuge Bring a Licensed Nasdaq-100 Fund Onchain

Table of Contents

• You might want to know
• How the Nasdaq-100 Fund Works
• Key Insights Table
• Afterwards

You might want to know

• What makes JQQQ different from third-party tokens that track stock prices?
• How could tokenized funds become part of broader blockchain-based financial applications?

How the Nasdaq-100 Fund Works

Janus Henderson and Centrifuge have launched JQQQ, an issuer-sponsored fund designed to track the Nasdaq-100 Index and issued on the Stellar blockchain. The launch brings a widely followed stock-market benchmark onto blockchain infrastructure through a fund created and managed by its investment manager, rather than through an independent token designed to imitate the value of the underlying securities. Nasdaq licenses the index, Janus Henderson issues and manages the fund, and Centrifuge supplies the blockchain infrastructure.

This arrangement is significant because it places the manager and index provider directly within the product’s structure. Janus Henderson, a London-based asset manager overseeing roughly $500 billion, is extending its onchain investment platform into another category of assets. The platform now includes more than $1 billion across Treasuries, structured credit and equities, according to the company. JQQQ adds an equity-index product to that collection and signals that tokenization efforts are reaching beyond familiar blockchain-based representations of cash-like and credit investments.

The Nasdaq-100 Index includes major technology companies such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft. By tracking the index through a fund issued on Stellar, JQQQ connects exposure to an established stock-market benchmark with blockchain-based fund infrastructure. The companies announced the launch on Tuesday. Stellar’s native token was cited as XLM$0.1853 in the announcement’s market reference, while the fund itself is the product at the center of the launch.

JQQQ follows an earlier onchain index product from Janus Henderson: the Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Fund (SPXA), introduced last year. That product was the first tokenized index fund licensed by the S&P Dow Jones Indices. Together, SPXA and JQQQ illustrate a development in which traditional asset managers are not merely observing tokenization from the sidelines; they are using blockchain infrastructure to issue investment products tied to recognized benchmarks.

The launch also reflects a broader shift in the tokenization conversation. Early activity in onchain investment products has focused heavily on U.S. Treasuries, money market funds and private credit. Extending tokenization to stock-market products introduces a different set of questions about index licensing, fund management, ownership rights and the relationship between a digital token and the security or investment exposure it represents. JQQQ’s structure makes those responsibilities more explicit by identifying the roles of the issuer, infrastructure provider and index licensor.

Issuer-sponsored funds are distinct from third-party stock tokens. In JQQQ’s case, Janus Henderson issues and manages the fund, Centrifuge provides the infrastructure, and Nasdaq licenses the benchmark. This means the product is established with the involvement of the investment manager and the index provider, rather than being created solely by an outside party seeking to offer price exposure to a company’s shares.

Third-party stock tokens can be structured in different ways. Some may be backed by shares held in custody, while others may be separate instruments designed to track a stock’s price. Depending on the product’s structure, a holder may not own the underlying shares and may not receive shareholder rights. These differences matter because a token that follows a share price is not automatically equivalent to owning that share. Investors need to consider the legal and economic terms of the specific product, including what rights it conveys and how its value is linked to the referenced asset.

The question of issuer involvement has become especially prominent as blockchain-based trading proposals develop. Most recently, 22 companies objected to plans for blockchain-based trading of their shares on the OKX-ICE venue. Their objections added to a wider debate over whether companies should have a say when their stocks are represented or traded through tokenized products. The issue is not only technical: it also concerns control over how securities are presented, the use of company names and shares, and the rights and expectations attached to a token.

Nasdaq framed JQQQ as a response to investor interest in established market benchmarks delivered through digital infrastructure. “As investors explore new ways to access markets through digital infrastructure, demand continues to grow for exposure to established, transparent benchmarks,” said Sean Wasserman, head of index product management at Nasdaq. The comment points to a key distinction in the product’s appeal: the use of blockchain infrastructure does not replace the benchmark itself. Instead, the fund combines a familiar index reference with a different way of issuing and operating an investment product.

Tokenization may also change how investment holdings can interact with other financial services. In principle, an onchain fund could allow investors to use holdings as collateral for loans or transfer them between blockchain-based financial applications. Whether those uses are possible in practice depends on regulatory requirements, the fund’s rules, platform support and the compatibility of the relevant systems. These possibilities should therefore be understood as potential developments, not as guaranteed features of JQQQ.

Anil Sood, chief strategy and growth officer at Centrifuge, described the broader ambition behind such products: “Tokenization becomes much more powerful when the assets investors want to own can also become building blocks for an onchain financial system.” The statement highlights a long-term vision in which tokenized funds are not simply digital records of conventional investments. They could also be designed to interact with blockchain-based services. Achieving that vision would require dependable infrastructure, clear legal arrangements and practical safeguards for investors.

Overall, JQQQ represents an expansion of institutional tokenization into stock-market exposure, while making clear that not all tokenized products have the same structure. The participation of Janus Henderson and Nasdaq establishes a direct connection to fund management and index licensing, while Centrifuge contributes the technical layer. The launch does not settle wider disputes about third-party tokens, shareholder rights or the rules governing onchain trading. It does, however, offer an example of how an asset manager can bring a licensed index product onto a blockchain through an issuer-led model.

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Key Insights Table

Afterwards...

JQQQ adds a licensed, manager-issued index fund to the expanding range of onchain investment products. Its longer-term importance will depend on how investors use the fund, how supporting platforms develop and how regulation addresses tokenized securities and investor rights. As more institutions explore blockchain-based products, the distinction between issuer-sponsored funds and third-party tokens is likely to remain central. Clear product structures, transparent rights and reliable infrastructure will be important if tokenized investments are to move from isolated launches toward broader participation in digital financial systems.