Bitcoin financial services company Fold began trading publicly on the Nasdaq Composite on Wednesday, joining a small group of crypto-focused companies that are selling shares on major U.S. stock exchanges. The firm, which rewards customers with Bitcoin and has a debit card, began trading under the name Fold Holdings Inc. (FLD) at $10.25 per share before climbing to over $12 as of this writing.
“We are excited to list on Nasdaq and look forward to continuing on our mission to expand access to bitcoin rewards and financial services as a public company,” Fold CEO Will Reeves said in a press release. Fold is among the few digital assets companies to be publicly traded. Fold last year announced plans to go public via a special purpose acquisition company agreement with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. The deal valued the firm at $365 million.
Since its founding in 2019, Fold said that it has processed more than $2 billion in volume through services including bill pay, debit cards, and insured accounts. Customers accrue Bitcoin rewards by using Fold’s services, and can purchase BTC through the platform without fees. A Fold spokesperson told Decrypt that the company has distributed over $20 million worth of BTC rewards to date, valued at about $70 million thanks to the rising price of Bitcoin over the years.
In a statement Wednesday, Fold CEO Will Reeves said the company was “expanding access to wealth creation” for its clients. Fold last year teamed up with Visa to release its rewards debit card and now a credit card is also in the works, according to its website, which will let clients “spend USD on credit and stack sats.” Other Bitcoin-focused companies trading on the Nasdaq include American miners—such as RIOT—and software company Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy), which has rebranded as a “Bitcoin treasury company.”
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