Fold Rings Nasdaq’s Opening Bell—First Bitcoin Financial Services Firm to List

Wall Street’s hallowed halls just got a crypto baptism—Fold smashed tradition by becoming the first Bitcoin-focused financial services company to list on Nasdaq. The Opening Bell ceremony wasn’t just confetti; it was a middle finger to legacy finance’s ’wait-and-see’ approach.

Why it matters: Mainstream exchanges are finally acknowledging Bitcoin’s staying power—even if they still don’t understand it. Fold’s debut forces institutional investors to confront what they’ve mocked for years: digital asset infrastructure is eating their lunch.

The cynical take: Of course Nasdaq embraced this—they’ll monetize crypto’s volatility while old-money bankers still argue about ’intrinsic value.’ Meanwhile, Fold’s team popped champagne knowing their tech actually solves problems beyond generating fees.

Fold partners with Visa to expand its reach

To provide these rewards, Fold has partnered with major credit card issuers. Its 2023 partnership with Visa enabled the company to expand into Europe, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific regions. This allows users to receive Bitcoin cashback on nearly any purchase.

Cashback is a popular way for credit card issuers to attract customers. For every purchase on a card, users get a small percentage of their purchase back into their account. These are either applied to their credit card bills or received as a deposit.

The company went public on February 19, with a SPAC merger with FTAC Emerald Acquisition Corp. This is a popular route for private companies to go public, without the traditional initial public offering. IPO’s usually mean that companies face significant scrutiny from regulators, which can be very costly.