Fintech AtlasClear announces new strategy, sees shares slide to new all-time low
Shares of the small-cap AtlasClear Holdings, a fintech firm developing a trading platform aimed at small- and middle-market financial services firms, plunged nearly 12% on Friday, January 10, to hit an all-time low. The trigger was the reveal of a new strategy, according to which AtlasClear said it will focus on digital assets. It expressed confidence that the incoming administration of Donald Trump would “finally provide the clarity the U.S. markets have been lacking.”
Details
AtlasClear shares fell nearly 12% on Friday to $7.88 per share on the New York Stock Exchange, marking an all-time low. Since its debut on February 12, 2024, the stock has lost almost all its value, down over 98%.
On Friday, AtlasClear published an investor letter from its chairman, John Schaible, outlining its strategy for 2025. It plans to increase profits and cash flow by expanding its broker-dealer network, completing the acquisition of Commercial Bancorp, and venturing into the digital assets space.
It said it intends to focus on building a crypto custodial, trading, clearing, and lending platform. It also plans to acquire “accretive introducing broker-dealers and synergistic digital asset companies.”
“We hope that the new administration will finally provide the clarity the U.S. markets have been lacking to properly capitalize on the digital asset opportunity,” Schaible wrote.
Why digital assets?
The new Trump administration is viewed as positive for the digital asset space. One of Trump’s priorities as president is to make the U.S. a global leader in crypto, he stated in a CNBC interview in mid-December. Just two days later, Trump confirmed plans to create a U.S. strategic bitcoin reserve, similar to the nation’s strategic oil reserve, Reuters has reported. Following this, bitcoin reached a record high.
AtlasClear expects institutional interest to grow in 2025, not only in ETFs but also in tokenized money market funds and high-quality liquid assets. The company highlighted that the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has approved the use of tokenized assets as collateral. This development, while requiring advancements in regulatory frameworks and settlement technologies, presents an unprecedented opportunity to modernize financial market infrastructure, AtlasClear noted.
“As the adoption of digital assets accelerates, one of the most pressing challenges is the seamless integration of blockchain-based systems with traditional back-office infrastructure. We believe this creates a significant gap: While digital assets offer speed, transparency, and efficiency, their full potential cannot be realized without interoperating effectively with the systems that govern traditional financial operations; and a significant opportunity for AtlasClear to lead institutional clients to the future state of finance,” the company’s chairman wrote.
About AtlasClear
AtlasClear Holdings has been publicly traded after it merged with a SPAC, Quantum FinTech Acquisition Corporation, less than a year ago. At the same time, AtlasClear acquired broker-dealer Wilson-Davis & Co. and announced plans to purchase Commercial Bancorp.
The company set out to create a more efficient platform for trading, clearing, settlement and banking of evolving and innovative financial products with a focus on the small- and middle-market financial services firms. However, things did not go as planned.
“2024 was a profoundly challenging year for the company because we had less capital and much more convertible debt than hoped and our stock paid a dire price,” Schaible admitted.
In December, AtlasClear announced a 1-for-60 reverse stock split to maintain its listing on the NYSE. Later last month, it secured a $45 million investment agreement with the investment firm Hanire.
