Janus Henderson Launches JQQQ, a Tokenized Nasdaq-100 Fund on Stellar for Non-US Professional Investors
Janus Henderson and Centrifuge have launched JQQQ, a fund that tracks the Nasdaq-100 and lives on a blockchain. Janus Henderson calls it the first blockchain-native fund licensed to track the index. It runs on Stellar.
The ticker is a deliberate nod to Invesco’s QQQ, the giant ETF that tracks the same index. The difference is plumbing. QQQ trades through brokers and clearing houses. JQQQ’s fund interests are issued on chain.
How it’s built
JQQQ is a segregated portfolio of Anemoy Capital SPC Limited. Centrifuge issues the tokens and Janus Henderson Investors is the sub-investment manager. The fund uses an official Nasdaq index license.
Holders own shares in the fund. They don’t own Nvidia, Apple or Microsoft directly. That’s the same as any index fund, but it’s worth saying, because “tokenized stocks” gets used loosely.
Who can buy it
Not most people. JQQQ is aimed at eligible professional investors outside the United States, with a reported minimum of $100,000. US investors have to wait. Being on a blockchain also doesn’t mean unrestricted trading or instant redemption. The fund’s own terms still decide that.
Why it matters
Janus Henderson already runs tokenized Treasury and structured credit products with Centrifuge, and Centrifuge previously tokenized an S&P 500 fund. Equities are the next step. Treasury tokens became popular because crypto funds and DAOs wanted a yield-bearing dollar asset they could hold on chain. An index fund gives the same buyers equity exposure without leaving the chain.
The bigger signal is the license. Index providers guard their brands closely. Nasdaq agreeing to license the Nasdaq-100 for an on-chain fund is a sign that tokenized funds are being treated as a distribution channel, not an experiment.
It’s a narrow launch: one chain, professional investors, a high minimum, no US access. Most tokenized products start that way.