Key takeaways
- Janus Henderson brings licensed Nasdaq-100 exposure onto Stellar
- JQQQ initially targets professional investors outside United States
- Centrifuge powers fund as institutional tokenization expands
Janus Henderson has launched JQQQ, the first blockchain-native investment fund licensed to track the Nasdaq-100 Index, bringing exposure to some of America's largest technology companies onto the Stellar network.
The October 27 announcement marks an important development for tokenized securities because the fund is managed through an established asset-management structure and uses an official Nasdaq index license.
Built using Centrifuge infrastructure, JQQQ initially targets eligible professional investors outside the United States, with a minimum investment of $100,000, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Unlike existing stock tokens that simply mirror market prices, the new product offers regulated fund exposure through an issuer-sponsored structure, although investors do not directly own the underlying Nasdaq-100 constituents.
Nasdaq-100 Comes to Stellar Through Janus Henderson
According to the official announcement, JQQQ operates as a segregated portfolio of Anemoy Capital SPC Limited, with Janus Henderson Investors serving as sub-investment manager.
The fund seeks to track the Nasdaq-100, which includes major companies such as Nvidia, Apple and Microsoft.
Its shares are issued through Centrifuge's blockchain infrastructure, with Stellar serving as the initial and exclusive network.
That approach differs from conventional exchange-traded funds, including Invesco QQQ, whose shares trade through traditional securities-market infrastructure.
The launch builds on Centrifuge's earlier work bringing the S&P 500 onchain, illustrating how major stock indexes are gradually entering blockchain-based investment products.
However, the new structure does not automatically provide unrestricted trading, instant redemptions or direct ownership of the companies represented in the index.
Stellar's Tokenized Asset Market Surpasses $4 Billion
The decision to launch on Stellar comes as the network expands its institutional financial infrastructure.
Centrifuge said Stellar's real-world asset market surpassed $4 billion in 2026, supported by tokenized Treasuries, credit products and other financial instruments.
Coinpaper previously reported Stellar's RWA growth, which accelerated sharply from less than $1 billion at the beginning of the year.
The network also has a planned connection with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation's tokenization services, with DTC-linked assets expected during the first half of 2027.
Janus Henderson's broader tokenized portfolio already includes US Treasury securities, structured credit and other equity-linked products.
The Nasdaq-100 launch expands that offering into one of the world's most widely followed equity benchmarks.
Why JQQQ Matters for Tokenized Stocks
The product arrives as financial institutions reconsider how traditional securities should be issued and transferred.
Earlier this month, nine American companies objected to a separate tokenized-stock trading proposal, highlighting concerns about shareholder protections and market structure.
JQQQ takes a different approach by licensing the benchmark and issuing fund interests directly rather than independently tokenizing individual companies' shares.
The launch also follows Solana's tokenized equity expansion, where holding addresses recently reached 1.5 million.
Meanwhile, Securitize introduced tokenized US stocks for eligible American investors, showing that competing networks are pursuing different market structures.
