Nasdaq’s newly proposed itemizing guidelines might give established digital asset treasury corporations an edge, whereas elevating new obstacles for smaller gamers seeking to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their stability sheets.
The modifications, introduced Wednesday, embody lifting the minimal public float to $15 million and fast-tracking delistings for firms that fall out of compliance.
In accordance with Brandon Ferrick, normal counsel at Web3 infrastructure firm Douro Labs, the proposed modifications are unlikely to harm well-managed digital asset treasury corporations. As a substitute, they offer stronger gamers a buying and selling premium.
“You’ll be able to anticipate one of the best names to commerce at a premium as a result of the weaker performing corporations shall be washed out. This successfully places an mNAV premium on high-quality DATs,” Ferrick advised Cointelegraph.
A DAT is a digital asset treasury firm. A a number of of web asset worth, or mNAV, is the market’s worth of an organization relative to its digital asset holdings.
The proposed itemizing requirements function three key updates: a $15 million public minimal float for brand spanking new listings, an acceleration of delisting firms which have “compliance deficiency” or a market worth beneath $5 million, and a $25 million minimal public-offering proceeds requirement “for new listings of firms principally working in China.”
The proposed $15 million minimal float might have unintended penalties, in accordance with Ferrick, making shell firms costlier and successfully elevating the barrier to entry for brand spanking new issuers.
“The [shell companies] will turn into costlier […] which implies that the barrier to entry was simply raised.”
A shell firm is a authorized entity with little to no lively operations, typically used for functions resembling enterprise capital offers, asset administration, or company restructuring. A typical kind of shell firm is the particular objective acquisition firm (SPAC), which is created to boost funds and later merge with or purchase one other agency. SPACs and different shell entities have been largely utilized in enterprise offers involving digital asset treasuries.
“Nasdaq is submitting the proposed guidelines to the SEC for overview and, if accepted, is proposing to implement the modifications to the preliminary itemizing necessities promptly,” the alternate stated in an announcement.
Nasdaq is among the largest inventory exchanges worldwide, with a dominant presence in choices and tech shares buying and selling. As of August 2025, the alternate listed 3,324 firms within the US and dealt with greater than 49 billion fairness shares in month-to-month buying and selling quantity.
Nasdaq guidelines usually require firms to hunt shareholder approval earlier than issuing new securities tied to main acquisitions, fairness compensation, a change of management, or a sale representing 20% or extra of shares beneath market value, in accordance to the alternate’s itemizing middle.
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