Bitcoin Firm Nakamoto Plots 1-for-40 Stock Split Following 99% Price Plunge

In brief

• Bitcoin firm Nakamoto is instituting a 1-for-40 reverse stock split.
• The move is intended to help it achieve a share price of $1 as NAKA has fallen to all-time lows.
• As it stands, shares in the firm sit more than 99.5% off their 52-week high.

Publicly traded Bitcoin treasury firm Nakamoto (NAKA) announced it will implement a 1-for-40 reverse stock split, following shareholder approval, as it seeks to maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing rules. 

The move is aimed at pushing the firm’s share price back to at least $1.00 in order to meet the minimum bid price requirement. 

Last week, shares in the firm sank to a new all-time low after Nakamoto posted losses of around $239 million in Q1, largely on the back of the decline in Bitcoin’s price. But the stock has fallen even further since, dropping 7.5% on Wednesday to change hands near $0.158 and hitting a new all-time low point of $0.145 at one point during the day’s trading session. 

Even as shares have gained 2.6% in after hours trading, they remain more than 99.5% off their 52-week high of $34.77.

The firm’s decision to implement the reverse stock split follows a special May 8 shareholder meeting in which an approval of no less than 1-for-20 and no more than 1-for-50 was approved by stockholders, according to the firm’s announcement. 

As a result of the split, outstanding shares of the common stock will move from 696.1 million shares to 17.4 million, with an expected effective date of Friday, May 22. 

The treasury firm, which maintains a balance of more than 5,000 Bitcoin valued above $388 million, has sold its primary treasury vehicle in each of the last two quarters. It first parted with around $20 million worth of BTC in Q4 before selling around $22 million in Q1, according to its recent earnings report. 

Bitcoin, which is up 1.6% in the last 24 hours, was recently changing hands around $77,927. The top crypto asset has gained over 2% in the last month of trading, but still sits more than 38% off its October all-time high of $126,080.