Main Points :
- Nasdaq is imposing stricter monitoring by requiring shareholder approval before issuances to fund crypto purchases, with potential delisting or suspension for non-compliance.
- This tightening follows a wave of companies raising capital to build crypto treasuries and coincides with steep declines in crypto prices.
- Treasury-focused stocks—KindlyMD, American Bitcoin, Metaplanet, Bitmine Immersion, and Sharplink Gaming—experienced significant losses, while Strategy (MicroStrategy) held up comparatively better.
- Broader market context: corporate crypto treasuries now approach $100B-plus in assets; audit transparency remains a serious concern.
- Regulatory climate is shifting: The Fed is folding crypto oversight into standard bank supervision, while the CFTC adopts Nasdaq’s surveillance tech, and concerns persist about the verifiability of crypto holdings.
1. Nasdaq Tightens Monitoring of Crypto Treasury Firms
Nasdaq has reportedly stepped up its oversight of publicly listed companies deploying “crypto treasury” strategies—namely, those rapidly raising capital to purchase cryptocurrencies in pursuit of stock gains. According to reports, Nasdaq is now requiring some of these firms to secure shareholder approval before issuing new equity to finance these purchases. Non-compliance could result in delisting or trading suspension.
2. Sharp Price Drops Compound Pressure on Crypto Treasury Stocks
This regulatory development comes amid a downturn in cryptocurrency prices—major tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana fell by 2–4%. This confluence of tightening oversight and negative crypto market sentiment further depressed the share prices of crypto treasury firms.
3. Crypto Treasury Stocks Take Heavy Losses
- KindlyMD, which recently merged with Bitcoin-holding Nakamoto Holdings, plunged 16% in one day and is down approximately 80% since the August 15 merger; at a current trades price of $3.46, it’s down over 90% from its late-May peak.
- American Bitcoin (led by Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.) declined about 20% within a day of listing on Nasdaq.
- Metaplanet (Japanese hotel operator turned Bitcoin treasury firm) dropped 8.6% on the same day, down roughly 70% from its late-May peak.
- Ethereum-focused firms—Bitmine Immersion fell 8.6% (70% off its July high), and Sharplink Gaming dropped 10.5% (nearly 90% off its late-May high).
- In contrast, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy, headed by Michael Saylor) declined only 1.8%, and remains approximately 30% below its mid-July 2025 high, showing relative resilience.
4. Corporate Crypto Treasuries: Scope and Scale
Corporate interest in crypto treasuries has boomed in 2025. According to Blockworks, such treasuries are approaching a net asset value of $100 billion, up from $60 billion in early May. DWF Labs reports over $85 billion in total disclosed and on-chain holdings by publicly traded firms—including Strategy/MicroStrategy, Trump Media, GameStop, SharpLink, and others.
5. Funding Mechanisms and Crypto Asset Strategies
Public companies have deployed diverse equity and financing strategies to fund their crypto holdings. Common methods include Private Investment in Public Equity (PIPE), At-the-Market (ATM) equity offerings, loans or credit facilities, convertible notes or SPAC deals, and use of existing cash reserves.
Examples:
- Strategy raised hundreds of millions via ATM sales and debt to accumulate 601,550 BTC, totaling over $73 billion.
- GameStop raised ~$2.7B via convertible debt to buy ~4,710 BTC. Trump Media targeted $2.5B to establish a major Bitcoin treasury. SharpLink holds ~280,706 ETH—making it the largest public firm Ethereum holder as of mid-July.
- Altcoin-focused treasury strategies also emerged: Solana (SOL), BNB, Fetch.ai (FET), HYPE, SUI, TRX—numerous firms raised large sums for multi-asset treasuries.
6. Audit and Transparency Challenges
Financial Times highlights that auditing crypto treasury holdings remains highly opaque. Auditors struggle to verify token quantities, control, and valuation due to lack of public wallet disclosure, inconsistent custodial practices, and weak regulatory standards. This opacity raises risk of undetected fraud—some proposals even satirically suggest a “Sterling Treasury Company” pyramid-scheme model for irony’s sake.
7. Shifting Regulatory Landscape Beyond Nasdaq Oversight
- The Federal Reserve will phase out its specialized “novel activities” crypto supervision program, folding oversight into standard banking supervision—a signal of crypto becoming a more mainstream concern.
- The CFTC is adopting Nasdaq’s advanced SMARTS surveillance system to monitor crypto derivatives and prediction markets—enabling real-time detection of manipulation and abnormal activity.
- However, concerns over audit standards persist, and many of these monitoring systems remain technocratic and not necessarily investor-facing.
Conclusion
Nasdaq’s heightened scrutiny marks a turning point in the crypto treasury narrative: the era of unfettered capital raising to fuel crypto reserve strategies is facing meaningful constraints. Firms previously able to ignite share rallies by announcing token purchases now risk trading suspension without robust corporate governance measures like shareholder approval.
Blockchain practitioners and investors exploring new revenue or treasury applications should note that this tightening is not isolated—parallel regulatory shifts from the Fed and CFTC signal increasing legitimacy but also growing oversight. Auditors still stumble over verification of on-chain assets, underscoring the need for transparency, such as public wallet disclosures, third-party custody validation, and consistent accounting frameworks.
In practical terms, enterprises must balance crypto treasury ambitions with governance and compliance. For blockchain innovators, opportunities lie in building infrastructure that supports transparency—proof-of-reserves tools, audit-friendly token custody, regulated platforms integrating surveillance analytics—all aligning with an evolving regulatory environment. Those who navigate this landscape with operational clarity, auditability, and strategic restraint will find more durable paths to innovation and revenue.
