Nakamoto Ltd will enact a 1-for-40 reverse stock split on May 22, 2026, in a last-ditch effort to lift its share price above Nasdaq’s $1 minimum bid. The company’s stock had fallen to $0.22 by April 6, triggering a deficiency notice that gave it until June 8 to regain compliance. The split will collapse roughly 696.1 million outstanding shares into about 17.4 million shares, with a theoretical post-split price of $8.80. Behind the financial engineering is a broader strategic shift: Nakamoto is pivoting to a Bitcoin Treasury model, aiming to offer institutional investors a regulated, exchange-listed proxy for BTC price performance.
The Nasdaq compliance race
Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) requires a minimum $1 bid price. Nakamoto’s share price had been sliding for months, and the deficiency notice from early April set an initial deadline of June 8. At a special shareholder meeting on May 8, investors authorized the board to pick a reverse split ratio between 1-for-20 and 1-for-50. The board settled on 1-for-40 — aggressive enough to push the stock well above $1 even if the market doesn’t immediately embrace the new Bitcoin treasury strategy.
What the reverse split means for holders
Shareholders won’t see their total equity value change overnight — the split is purely cosmetic in dollar terms. But anyone holding a position not evenly divisible by 40 will receive cash for the leftover fractional shares. That’s a potential headache for retail traders with odd lots. The exchange will handle the adjustment automatically, but the cash-out could sting for small accounts that wanted to keep every share.
The Bitcoin treasury pivot
The more interesting story is why Nakamoto is doing this. The company is rebranding its balance sheet strategy around Bitcoin, promising institutional investors a way to get BTC price exposure through a regulated, Nasdaq-listed stock — no self-custody, no exchange account needed. It’s a crowded pitch (MicroStrategy owns that lane), but Nakamoto is betting that a smaller cap and a fresh structure can carve out a niche. The reverse split buys time to sell the story to the market.
What’s next
Starting May 22, Nakamoto shares will trade on a post-split basis under the same ticker. The company still has to meet the June 8 deadline — if the stock closes below $1 for even one more day after the split, the clock resets and Nasdaq could issue a delisting notice. All eyes will be on the open on Friday.
