Nasdaq "suppresses" Crypto Assets reserve companies? New shares issued to buy coins require shareholder approval!

Since 2025, a wave of "capital raising to buy coins" led by publicly listed companies has swept Wall Street. This model, known as "Digital Asset Treasury (DAT)", involves publicly listed companies raising funds through methods such as issuing new shares, and then using these funds to purchase Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital assets, which are then included in the company's balance sheet. It has become a phenomenal form of capital operation.

Data shows that the scale of this craze is astonishing. Since January of this year, more than 154 listed companies in the United States have announced cryptocurrency purchase plans totaling up to $98.4 billion. In comparison, only 10 companies announced similar plans amounting to $33.6 billion throughout last year. As of early September, the total amount of Bitcoin held by publicly listed companies worldwide has historically exceeded 1 million coins, with a total value of over $110 billion.

However, just as this capital frenzy is intensifying, the Nasdaq exchange, which serves as the trading platform for the majority of cryptocurrency concept stocks, seems to be applying the brakes on this enthusiasm and tightening the rules of the game.

According to reports, Nasdaq is working to strengthen its scrutiny of such behavior. The exchange has begun requiring some companies that plan to raise funds by issuing new shares to purchase digital assets to first obtain approval from their shareholders.

The new regulations by Nasdaq are not limited to shareholder voting, but also include mandatory information disclosure, requiring companies to elaborate on their investment scale, specific strategies, and potential significant risks. If the relevant companies fail to comply with these new regulations, Nasdaq reserves the right to suspend their stock trading or even delist them.

This move is widely interpreted by the market as Nasdaq's attempt to "cool down" and "regulate" the current trend of "corporate coin buying". The core concern of regulators is that many companies, especially those whose main business is unrelated to digital assets, are mimicking the strategy of industry pioneer Strategy (formerly Micro Strategy), trying to quickly boost their stock prices by transforming into "crypto concept stocks". This transformation not only has the potential to mislead investors who are unfamiliar with the crypto market, but also carries significant market risks, especially when the acquired assets are those with lower liquidity and higher volatility emerging tokens.

Lawyers analyze that Nasdaq's move is essentially signaling a core principle to the market: when a listed company plans to undertake a "transformative" transaction that could fundamentally change its business nature or ownership structure, shareholders should rightfully have the final say.

As soon as the news of Nasdaq tightening regulations emerged, it immediately triggered a chain reaction in the capital markets. Investors are concerned that the new shareholder approval process will significantly extend the company's financing cycle, reducing its flexibility to seize opportunity windows in the rapidly changing encryption market, thereby delivering a heavy blow to the attractiveness of the DAT model.

In a short time, the stock prices of related concept stocks fell sharply, and the market was filled with sorrow: BitMine Immersion (BMNR): As a leader in the Ethereum reserve company sector, its stock price plummeted nearly 6% after the news broke, down 70% from its July peak. Sharplink Gaming (SBET): Also transformed into an Ethereum reserve company, its stock price crashed by 10.5%, a decline of nearly 90% compared to its May peak. Metaplanet (MTPLF): Dubbed the "Japanese version of Strategy," its stock fell by 8.6%, down 70% from its May high. American Bitcoin (ABTC): Led by members of the Trump family, its stock price quickly retreated after a strong debut on the first day of trading. KindlyMD (NAKA): Its stock price has collapsed by over 80% since mid-August, almost becoming a microcosm of this round of crypto reserve bubble burst. Even the pioneer and staunchest executor of this model—Strategy (MSTR)—could not escape, though it has resisted the downturn relatively well, its stock price has also seen a decline of about 30% from its July peak.

In the face of market panic and skepticism, some companies quickly came forward to clarify, trying to "distance themselves" from the new regulations of Nasdaq, and to soothe investor emotions. Their core argument is that not all issuance actions require "additional" shareholder approval.

The Ethereum reserve giant BitMine clearly pointed out two points: First, the company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE American), not Nasdaq, so Nasdaq's new regulations do not have direct binding force on it. Secondly, and more importantly, BitMine issues new shares through an existing system called "shelf registration."

"Shelf registration" is a flexible financing mechanism that allows a batch of securities to be registered with securities regulators (such as the SEC) in advance, without the need to issue them immediately. Companies can issue these "shelved" securities in batches and quickly over a future period, depending on market timing, without having to resubmit complete registration documents each time. BitMine emphasizes that issuing stocks through this approved mechanism does not require separate shareholder approval for each issuance.

Another Ethereum reserve company, SharpLink, also issued a similar statement. The company stated that it fully complies with Nasdaq rules, but if it raises funds for purchasing Ethereum through the At-The-Market (ATM) plan, no additional shareholder approval is required. The ATM plan allows listed companies to sell new shares in small batches at the current market price through brokers in the secondary market. SharpLink also emphasized that its fundraising strategy is always based on the premise of "adding value for shareholders" and will never dilute shareholder equity by financing when the stock price is below the net asset value (NAV).

These clarifications indicate that for large, well-regulated listed companies like Strategy, BitMine, and SharpLink, they have long established mature financing channels that comply with regulatory frameworks. Nasdaq's recent "crackdown" may be more aimed at those emerging DAT companies with weak compliance foundations that attempt to "overtake on a bend."

In summary, Nasdaq's tightening of scrutiny on "fundraising to buy coins" has undoubtedly applied an urgent brake to this nearly uncontrollable capital frenzy. This marks the regulators' vigilance regarding the potential risks of the DAT model and suggests that the golden era for listed companies to boost stock prices merely by copying the "buy coins" strategy may have come to an end.

Although clarifications from companies like BitMine and SharpLink indicate that there is still room for flexible operations under the rules, it is undeniable that the thresholds and scrutiny pressures faced by new entrants have significantly increased. This regulatory storm has caused growing pains for related concept stocks in the short term, but in the long run, it may be a necessary step to drive the market towards maturity, squeeze out bubbles, and protect investors. In the future, companies' digital asset strategies will have to place greater emphasis on compliance, transparency, and the synergistic value with their core business, rather than merely being a capital game chasing stock price increases.

#Public Companies Hoarding Coins