Ether Machine cancels $1.5B Nasdaq listing deal, cites ‘unfavorable’ conditions

The Ether Machine, the world’s third-largest ETH treasury firm, has shelved its plan for public listing on the Nasdaq exchange.  In a statement on Saturday, the 11th of April, the firm said it mutually agreed with Dynamix Corporation to terminate their proposed merger, citing ‘unfavorable’ market conditions.  The initial plan, first floated in July 2025, was a $1.5 billion deal with massive ETH holdings, aimed at combining the two businesses to form a publicly listed ETH treasury firm.  At that time, ETH traded above $3.4K, with Ether Machine’s 334K ETH holdings valued at over $1 billion. In fact, ETH rallied higher to over $4.8K only to dump hard as the broader crypto market rout deepened after the October crash. At the press time value of $2.2K, ETH was down 52% from the October high of $4.7K.  It remains to be seen whether Ether Machine will explore another public listing if the market recovers.  Ether Machine joins the ETH staking frenzy That said, the Ether Machine initially sought to be the largest ETH treasury firm. It had planned to own 10% of the ETH circulating supply, or about 12 million ETH. Compared to BitMine’s ‘5% Alchemy’ or 6 million ETH, such a move would have made the Ether Machine the top ETH treasury firm.  With the muted Nasdaq listing, it’s unclear whether its 10% ETH supply goal still holds. Even so, the firm made its last ETH buy in October and currently holds 496.71K ETH, worth $1B.  Interestingly, the firm’s entire ETH stash is reportedly staked and currently earning rewards. Similar staking moves have been made by SharpLink and BitMine, which target $300M in annual revenue from its 4.8 million ETH holdings.  Overall, ETH treasury firms hold over 7.3 million ETH, or 6% of the circulating supply. In contrast, SoSo Value data showed spot ETH ETFs hold about 4.7% of the ETH supply.  Despite the divergence, ETH staking only spiked after the Grayscale ETH ETF began issuing ETH rewards in early January.  By the end of January, staked ETH had surpassed 36 million ETH for the first time, translating to over 30% of the circulating supply. As of April, the trend continues with 38.7 million ETH locked, or nearly 32% of supply, underscoring strong institutional participation.  It remains to be seen if the surging staking demand will lift ETH’s price amid increased locked supply.  Final Summary The Ether Machine has terminated its planned $1.5 billion merger deal with Dynamix Corporation, scuttling its Nasdaq listing and 12 million ETH target.  ETH staking demand has jumped by 2% in Q1 2026, thanks to institutional participation.