In the past year, more and more Web3 projects have begun to "enter" the traditional financial market. Not through the slow lane of IPOs, but by taking the capital shortcuts of shell companies and mergers and acquisitions. Whether it's Conflux injecting core assets into the Hong Kong-listed company Nanchang Pharmaceutical, or Tron using the shell of the small-cap Nasdaq company SRM Entertainment to rebrand as "Tron Inc.", and Sui promoting the allocation of huge amounts of SUI tokens by a U.S. stock company for treasury management, this round of cryptocurrency projects' "stock market paths" is worth a closer look.
The so-called "coin-stock linkage" essentially refers to a new valuation realization method for Web3 projects leveraging traditional capital markets. On one side, the token market is heating up, while on the other side, the stock market is telling new stories based on themes. Under the resonance of project parties, listed companies, and the secondary market funds, there is a rapid surge in both coin prices and stock prices within a short period. Taking Tron as an example, after the shell acquisition news was released, SRM's stock price skyrocketed over 300% within three days, while the TRX token also reached a yearly high due to the news stimulus.
But the linkage between cryptocurrencies and stocks is not just a game of capital operation. From the perspective of the project party, this is a realistic choice. The Web3 industry is entering the "compliance era"; for projects to emerge from the gray area, legal identity and financing capability have become crucial, in addition to technology and ecology. Backdoor listing means obtaining a "shell" recognized by regulators, completing the connection to the traditional market in terms of legal structure; at the same time, it also opens up greater space for financing, from equity financing, bond financing to token reserves on financial statements, traditional tools are being reactivated.
Conflux is a typical example. By injecting core blockchain assets through a Hong Kong shell company, it is not only an attempt at compliant landing but also a gamble under Hong Kong's "Web3 friendly policy" window. Tron’s approach is more aggressive, completing the backdoor listing during the SEC's pause on lawsuits against its founder, and also applying for $1 billion in financing to increase its holdings of TRX. Meanwhile, Sui has taken a different path—directly investing in equity, with the Sui Foundation and its early investors jointly funding, purchasing over 76 million SUI tokens from the Sui Foundation off-market, promoting the direct holding of tokens by the listed company, thus completing a legal "listing + holding tokens" closed loop.
It is worth noting that this type of linked model is spreading from leading public chains to more small and medium-sized projects and traditional listed companies. On one hand, project parties are seeking more stable identities and more funding, while on the other hand, many companies with weak main businesses are actively telling stories about blockchain, AI, and Web3 to find new valuation anchors. The Hong Kong market and the US stock market have begun to see a surge of such collaboration news.
However, rationally speaking, the linkage between cryptocurrencies and stocks resembles a structural market experiment. Its success lies not only in the rise of stock prices and the arrival of financing but also in whether the project can truly harness this set of traditional capital tools and move towards a commercially sustainable compliance path. If it merely pushes the coin price through shell companies, it will ultimately be seen through by the market.
For regulatory agencies, this also serves as a new window to observe the compliance process of the Web3 industry. Although shell companies have bypassed some regulatory thresholds, new regulatory discussions will inevitably arise once issues involving public financing, major information disclosure, and token financial statement valuation come into play. Balancing innovation and compliance may be the core issue of this round of the Web3 industry's "urbanization."
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Coin-Stock Linkage: The New "Shell" of Web3 Projects
Written by: Lawyer Liu Zhengyao
In the past year, more and more Web3 projects have begun to "enter" the traditional financial market. Not through the slow lane of IPOs, but by taking the capital shortcuts of shell companies and mergers and acquisitions. Whether it's Conflux injecting core assets into the Hong Kong-listed company Nanchang Pharmaceutical, or Tron using the shell of the small-cap Nasdaq company SRM Entertainment to rebrand as "Tron Inc.", and Sui promoting the allocation of huge amounts of SUI tokens by a U.S. stock company for treasury management, this round of cryptocurrency projects' "stock market paths" is worth a closer look.
The so-called "coin-stock linkage" essentially refers to a new valuation realization method for Web3 projects leveraging traditional capital markets. On one side, the token market is heating up, while on the other side, the stock market is telling new stories based on themes. Under the resonance of project parties, listed companies, and the secondary market funds, there is a rapid surge in both coin prices and stock prices within a short period. Taking Tron as an example, after the shell acquisition news was released, SRM's stock price skyrocketed over 300% within three days, while the TRX token also reached a yearly high due to the news stimulus.
But the linkage between cryptocurrencies and stocks is not just a game of capital operation. From the perspective of the project party, this is a realistic choice. The Web3 industry is entering the "compliance era"; for projects to emerge from the gray area, legal identity and financing capability have become crucial, in addition to technology and ecology. Backdoor listing means obtaining a "shell" recognized by regulators, completing the connection to the traditional market in terms of legal structure; at the same time, it also opens up greater space for financing, from equity financing, bond financing to token reserves on financial statements, traditional tools are being reactivated.
Conflux is a typical example. By injecting core blockchain assets through a Hong Kong shell company, it is not only an attempt at compliant landing but also a gamble under Hong Kong's "Web3 friendly policy" window. Tron’s approach is more aggressive, completing the backdoor listing during the SEC's pause on lawsuits against its founder, and also applying for $1 billion in financing to increase its holdings of TRX. Meanwhile, Sui has taken a different path—directly investing in equity, with the Sui Foundation and its early investors jointly funding, purchasing over 76 million SUI tokens from the Sui Foundation off-market, promoting the direct holding of tokens by the listed company, thus completing a legal "listing + holding tokens" closed loop.
It is worth noting that this type of linked model is spreading from leading public chains to more small and medium-sized projects and traditional listed companies. On one hand, project parties are seeking more stable identities and more funding, while on the other hand, many companies with weak main businesses are actively telling stories about blockchain, AI, and Web3 to find new valuation anchors. The Hong Kong market and the US stock market have begun to see a surge of such collaboration news.
However, rationally speaking, the linkage between cryptocurrencies and stocks resembles a structural market experiment. Its success lies not only in the rise of stock prices and the arrival of financing but also in whether the project can truly harness this set of traditional capital tools and move towards a commercially sustainable compliance path. If it merely pushes the coin price through shell companies, it will ultimately be seen through by the market.
For regulatory agencies, this also serves as a new window to observe the compliance process of the Web3 industry. Although shell companies have bypassed some regulatory thresholds, new regulatory discussions will inevitably arise once issues involving public financing, major information disclosure, and token financial statement valuation come into play. Balancing innovation and compliance may be the core issue of this round of the Web3 industry's "urbanization."