Janus Henderson, Centrifuge launch tokenized Nasdaq-100 fund JQQQ on Stellar
In brief
- JQQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100 on Stellar using Centrifuge's tokenization infrastructure.
- JQQQ offers indirect index exposure, not ownership of the underlying stocks.
- WSJ reported a $100,000 minimum for eligible professional investors outside the US.
- Janus Henderson's institutional onchain strategies now exceed $1 billion, the firm said.
- Stellar ranks fourth by distributed real-world asset value, about $3.8 billion, per RWA.xyz.
How JQQQ is structured
JQQQ runs on Centrifuge's tokenization infrastructure and seeks to track the Nasdaq-100 under a licensing agreement with the exchange, per the companies' announcement. The fund is set up as a segregated portfolio of a British Virgin Islands investment company (holders get exposure to the index, not the shares themselves).
That's a real distinction.
The fund targets eligible professional investors outside the US, according to the Wall Street Journal, which reported a minimum investment of $100,000, as cited by Cointelegraph.
For Janus Henderson, it's a step past the basics. The launch pushes the firm's onchain offerings beyond US Treasurys and structured credit into equity-index exposure, and the asset manager said its institutional onchain strategies now exceed $1 billion.
A wider Nasdaq-100 licensing field
The launch follows Nasdaq's decision in April to expand licensing of the Nasdaq-100 to more asset managers, including BlackRock and State Street, while keeping its partnership with Invesco. Invesco runs the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF, which Cointelegraph described as having a $499 billion market cap.
Why Stellar
Stellar ranks fourth among blockchains by distributed real-world asset value, with about $3.8 billion in tokenized assets, according to RWA.xyz. Only Ethereum, BNB Chain and Solana sit ahead of it. The network already hosts tokenized assets from issuers including Spiko, Franklin Templeton and Ondo.
More is in the pipeline. In July, tokenization platform Tradable announced plans to bring up to $1 billion in private credit assets to Stellar, with $500 million expected at launch. The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said in May it would connect its tokenization service to the chain, and DTCC-tokenized assets are expected to become available in the first half of 2027 (potentially including US Treasurys, major index ETFs and Russell 1000 stocks).
XLM, Stellar's native token, hasn't had the same kind of year. It's down about 16% year to date and traded near $0.17 on Tuesday, according to CoinGecko data.
Frequently asked questions
Does the JQQQ fund hold Nasdaq-100 stocks directly?
No. JQQQ is structured as a segregated portfolio of a British Virgin Islands investment company and provides indirect exposure to the Nasdaq-100, not ownership of the underlying stocks. It seeks to track the index under a licensing agreement with Nasdaq.
Who can invest in Janus Henderson's tokenized Nasdaq-100 fund?
The fund is open to eligible investors outside the United States. According to the Wall Street Journal, as cited by Cointelegraph, it targets eligible professional investors outside the US and has a minimum investment of $100,000.
