Ionic Digital Valued at $2.25B in Nasdaq Debut, Down 5.7% from Reference Price

Ionic Digital, a bitcoin miner and AI infrastructure provider, listed its shares on the Nasdaq exchange on Tuesday at $50 apiece. This was down nearly 5.7% from the reference price of $53 set by the exchange on Monday.

The company's direct listing has been highly anticipated, with some predicting it would be the largest since 2021. Ionic Digital has indeed raised money recently at a valuation of roughly $2.4 billion.

As a direct listing allows existing shareholders to sell their holdings without raising new capital or issuing new stock, it is seen as a more conservative approach compared to traditional IPOs.

Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, noted that Ionic Digital's business may not have a large 'moat', but he wouldn't categorize it with other companies like Allbirds and Hoth Therapeutics, which seem to be jumping on the AI bandwagon.