Bitcoin company joins the publicly traded ‘Fold’

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A bitcoin financial services company is now listed on the Nasdaq — joining a limited list of public players in the segment. 

Called Fold, the company revealed a combination with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. last July in an effort to go public.

Then, in December, Fold closed a $20 million convertible note financing from ATW Partners. That was secured in part by the company’s bitcoin holdings (totaling roughly 1,000 BTC) as collateral and was set to mature three years after Fold became a public company. 

That brings us to today, when Fold shares were set to start trading on the Nasdaq after its deal with FTAC was approved. Founded in 2019, Fold lets customers accumulate BTC through its rewards program.

Among the top crypto predictions for 2025 were more crypto-related companies going public — joining Coinbase, Strategy and a bunch of miners. 

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said at the Ondo Summit earlier this month he expected such progress on that front by May or June. His firm has been waiting to list publicly in the US for four-plus years.

Shares of crypto wallet provider Exodus hit the NYSE American stock exchange in December. That company held 1,900 BTC and 2,660 ETH in its reserves at the time.

Dan Weiskopf, co-portfolio manager of the Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF (BLOK), said he counts about 20 blockchain-related companies at various stages of the US public listing process (or considering it).

A revamped SEC that has Hester Peirce leading a crypto task force should support an expected 2025 public listing boom, Weiskopf added.   

“Bitcoin price action will continue to be the focus of excitement,” he told me. “But behind the scenes people forget that the picks and axes are also an important way to capitalize on the innovation that is in front of us.”

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