Janus Henderson, Centrifuge launch Nasdaq-100 onchain fund JQQQ on Stellar

This represents an issuer-sponsored, onchain fund operating on the Stellar blockchain that tracks the Nasdaq-100 Index.

This structure distinguishes it from third-party stock tokens because Janus Henderson is responsible for issuing and managing the fund. Centrifuge supplies the necessary blockchain infrastructure, and Nasdaq provides the license for the index tracking.

The introduction of JQQQ expands Wall Street's efforts toward tokenizing stock-market products. It also brings Janus Henderson’s onchain investment platform to over $1 billion in assets.

JQQQ follows the prior introduction of the Janus Henderson Anemoy S&P 500 Fund (SPXA) last year, which was the first tokenized index fund licensed by the S&P Dow Jones Indices.

The fund's model involves Janus Henderson issuing and managing it, Centrifuge providing the infrastructure, and Nasdaq licensing the index. This differs from third-party stock tokens, which might be backed by shares held in custody or structured as separate instruments tracking stock prices.

Sean Wasserman, head of index product management at Nasdaq, stated, “As investors explore new ways to access markets through digital infrastructure, demand continues to grow for exposure to established, transparent benchmarks.”

Anil Sood, chief strategy and growth officer at Centrifuge, noted, “Tokenization becomes much more powerful when the assets investors want to own can also become building blocks for an onchain financial system.”

This development showcases a progression where tokenization moves beyond merely digitizing existing assets toward creating products designed to function on blockchains inherently.

This move reflects a broader institutional trend where established financial entities are integrating decentralized ledger technology into traditional asset classes, moving beyond initial deployments in U.S. Treasuries and private credit.

Why it matters

This launch signals a deeper integration of traditional finance products onto blockchain infrastructure, moving beyond simple digital representations. The issuer-sponsored model highlights a key development in DeFi governance, where asset managers control the tokenization process itself. Readers should watch how this model compares to decentralized, third-party tokenization efforts.