On May 1, 2026, Eastern Time, NASDAQ made a landmark adjustment to its flagship index rules: officially abolishing the long-standing “10% minimum float requirement” and introducing a “fast-track” mechanism for large-cap IPOs that can be included in the NASDAQ-100 index within approximately 15 trading days. This means that as long as market capitalization and trading activity meet the standards, newly listed stocks are no longer required to meet the high float ratio as a prerequisite. For a number of emerging technology and Web3 companies with highly concentrated ownership, this marks the first time they are systematically written into mainstream index rules.

This change directly alters the previous rhythm of “first meet the float, then discuss the index” — especially the aspect of large-cap IPOs being included in the NASDAQ-100 index within approximately 15 trading days, which stands in stark contrast to the traditional rhythm that takes months or even longer. The implied conflict is also put on the table: on one side is the liquidity threshold set by the exchange from a robust perspective, and on the other, the common reality of emerging technology and crypto-related companies being low float and highly concentrated in ownership. How this rule will change the rhythm of crypto and Web3 companies landing on Wall Street and gaining index endorsement in the coming years will become a key perspective in observing the new round of capital landscape restructuring.

Ten-Year Old Rule Broken: Easing of the 10% Float Limit

Prior to this adjustment, NASDAQ had long adhered to a hard threshold requiring that at least 10% of shares must be publicly floated for index constituents. The purpose of this rule was to ensure that index constituents possess basic trading depth and liquidity, thereby reducing the risk of price manipulation and maintaining the index's representation of the “tradable market.” For flagship indices such as the NASDAQ-100, the 10% threshold serves as both a liquidity filter and a fundamental prerequisite for institutional capital to assess “whether it can participate in large amounts.”

However, in recent years, there has been a growing number of emerging technology companies with high valuations and low floats, particularly blockchain and crypto-related enterprises, whose ownership is often highly concentrated among founding teams, core technical personnel, and early funds, resulting in limited actual tradable shares available in the secondary market. Under the old rules, such companies, even if they had a considerable market cap on their debut, were often kept outside of core indices like the NASDAQ-100 for a significant period due to failing to meet the “10% float” hard threshold, missing out on valuation premiums and awareness that come with index synchrony.

With the new rules implemented, NASDAQ has completed a visible shift in thinking: from “mandatory float ratio” to a greater emphasis on overall market capitalization size and actual trading activity. The 10% threshold has been eliminated, replaced by a comprehensive evaluation centered around “large-cap IPOs” and “sufficiently active trading performance” — as long as these two main lines are met, new stocks can be considered for inclusion. This has released institutional space for companies with highly concentrated ownership, allowing them to avoid the need for passive dilution or accelerated unlocking to “meet float.”

But the relaxation of rules does not imply that risks have disappeared. Regulators and the market quickly focused on the same question: will the acceleration of index inclusion magnify price volatility and sentiment-driven trading under the premise that low float characteristics have not fundamentally changed? Will the index compilation “step forward” cause the already tight chip structure to evolve into more extreme short-term trading under the combined forces of passive buying and speculative funds? These concerns have not been directly addressed in the new rules text but pave the way for suspense in the subsequent market games.

The "Fast-track" Mechanism for Entering the NASDAQ-100 in Fifteen Trading Days

The most concrete and talked-about part of this reform is the introduction of a "fast-track" mechanism for large-cap IPOs: according to public information, qualifying large-cap IPOs can be included in the NASDAQ-100 index within approximately 15 trading days after listing (according to A/C). Under the traditional mechanism, it often takes several months or more of an observation period from IPO to being included in a flagship index, waiting for scheduled adjustment windows. This inertia in the cycle arises both from prudent considerations and the institutional constraints of compilation processes and capital allocation rhythms.

Once the time frame is compressed to "approximately 15 trading days," the change in rhythm becomes very intuitive: from “gradual market digestion after listing, then entering the index after several quarters” to “quickly becoming one of the index-weighted stocks post-IPO.” For adequately sized companies, this acceleration means earlier and more concentrated engagement with passive index funds and active funds that build around indices, making the expectation of “listing = large-scale incremental buying” more realistically tense.

On the passive fund side, although specific inflow scales and weighting formulas have not been disclosed in the information, it is certain that once new stocks are included in the NASDAQ-100, ETFs and index funds tracking the relevant indices will have to adjust their holdings within a short time. This rigid demand for passive buying provides a fairly certain financial anchor point for large-cap IPOs. Meanwhile, active funds often trade in advance based on “whether it will enter the index, and when it will enter the index,” exacerbating the “big IPO transforming into an index sprint” market narrative.

More importantly, this fast track is not effective immediately; it has been clearly set to take effect on May 1, 2026 (according to A/C). This leaves a clear time window for the market: large-cap IPOs landing on NASDAQ after this date will be priced under entirely different index rules. For tech and Web3 companies planning to go public around 2026, the timetable is no longer merely a function of regulatory approval and business maturity, but begins to directly interact with the index rules' effective nodes.

The Low-Float Dream of Web3: From Edge Stocks to Index Narrative

Among Web3 and blockchain-related companies, a highly similar ownership structure has become the norm: founding teams, core technical personnel, and early institutional investors hold large amounts of equity and enhancing control through multiple lock-up periods, token incentives, and cross-holdings. Unlike traditional internet companies that often bring in multiple rounds of financial investors in their early stages and continuously expand their float, many crypto infrastructure and protocol companies prefer to maintain relatively compact ownership and token structures at the time of listing, embedding the “scarcity” itself into the valuation narrative.

Under NASDAQ's old rules, such companies, even with striking market capitalizations on the first day of trading, would find it difficult to be included in core indices like the NASDAQ-100 within a short period. The reason is not growth potential or revenue logic, but the straightforward “float ratio not meeting standards.” As a result, the companies were portrayed as “the new nobles reforming financial infrastructure” in the primary market and OTC narrative, while long lingering on the periphery of the index system in the secondary market, suffering from valuation premiums that are hard to scale and long-term locked-in liquidity.

After NASDAQ abolished the 10% lower limit and introduced the fast track for large-cap IPOs, a structural fracture has emerged in this situation. For typical Web3 companies, as long as they can achieve a sufficient market cap and trading activity during the IPO, they have the opportunity to get a “dual acceleration of valuation narrative + index endorsement” in a short time. The market cap story no longer merely exists as a long-term vision in roadshow materials, but is expected to be transformed through early entry into the NASDAQ-100 into obligations in portfolios and structured allocations within asset allocation frameworks.

The voices on the market side are also echoing this intertwined narrative. Statements like “few companies have the opportunity to help rebuild the financial system” (according to single sources), once commonly seen in the promotion of Web3 entrepreneurs and crypto funds, are now beginning to exist within the same discourse field as NASDAQ index rules. When the ambition to “rebuild the financial system” meets the realistic path to “enter flagship indices faster,” the narratives between crypto and traditional finance are truly intersecting within the logic of index compilation on Wall Street, rather than merely staying at the level of slogans on social media and industry conferences.

Cryptocurrency Assets under Quantum Shadows: Wall Street's Timetable and Technical Countdown

While loosening thresholds at the rule level, the crypto industry itself is standing under the shadow of a technological countdown. According to public reports, the Google Quantum AI team has pointed out that many blockchain protocols and crypto assets rely on the ECDLP-256 elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem, which has potential security risks (according to single sources). Although the specific technical details of this assessment are still under further discussion in both academic and industry circles, the judgment that “existing cryptographic foundations may no longer be secure in the quantum era” is being taken seriously by an increasing number of infrastructure participants.

Against this backdrop, Google, along with Coinbase, the Ethereum Foundation, and others, has been reported to be collaborating to advance post-quantum cryptography migration (according to single sources), attempting to complete a security upgrade of the underlying protocols before true quantum attack capabilities arrive. This transforms the “upgrade of crypto infrastructure” from an abstract vision into a concrete project with clear technological risk anchors that need to be completed within a limited timeframe. For public chains, custodians, and trading platforms that view "security" as a core selling point, the uncertainties surrounding migration costs and technical paths pose pressures for a new round of capital expenditures and strategic decisions.

It is under such technological and security narratives that a number of high-quality crypto-related companies have stronger motivations to seize capital windows. In the coming years filled with uncertainties regarding quantum risks and migration progress, landing first on mainstream exchanges and entering flagship indices means locking in resources and attention in both primary and secondary markets. NASDAQ's relaxation of index admission rules, to some extent, provides a systemic accelerator for this round of “rushing against time”: companies can occupy the narrative high ground of “next-generation financial infrastructure” in the capital market before the technical path becomes fully clear.

Therefore, simplifying NASDAQ's adjustment as “loosening regulations” is not entirely accurate. From a longer technological and capital cycle perspective, it is more akin to a proactive embrace of new-generation financial technology and crypto infrastructure tracks: as new themes like quantum computing, post-quantum cryptography, and on-chain asset custody gradually enter mainstream view, exchanges have adjusted index rules to provide wider entry points and faster ascent channels for these new narratives.

The Game of Capital and Regulation: Faster Listings, More Difficult Pricing

The acceleration of rules inevitably brings new risk profiles. For companies with large market capitalizations but tight floats, once included in the NASDAQ-100 index in a short time frame, the possibility of price volatility is clearly magnified: on limited chips, along with the rigid buying from passive funds, the aggressive sentiment of active funds, and the chasing behavior of retail investors, it is easy to form a “liquidity squeeze-type” market condition. Valuations may be rapidly pushed up in a short time, only to retract sharply upon a sentiment reversal, with both the speed and scale of the bubble expansion potentially exceeding the experiential framework under traditional rhythms.

Behind this lies a latent game between exchanges, regulatory agencies, and large tech companies. On one hand, NASDAQ needs to showcase friendliness and flexibility towards innovative tracks amid global investment banking competition and the game of tech companies going public; on the other hand, regulators must maintain overall market stability, preventing flagship indices from being dominated by companies that are “good at storytelling but highly volatile.” Each step the index rules take towards “innovation” must seek a new balance under the premise of “controllable risks.”

For passive funds and index compilers, the pressure is also rising. Completing assessments and adjustments of constituents at a faster pace means needing to make judgments on company business models, financial structures, and potential risks in a shorter time frame; and once included, exiting is no longer a decision that can be slowly weighed. Especially when faced with highly complex businesses involving cross-chain and cross-regional regulations in crypto and Web3 companies, the quality of information disclosure, the identification of risk factors, and investor education issues become magnified:

● For retail investors, how to understand the “real risk exposure” of a company that issues on-chain tokens, operates a platform business, and is also listed on NASDAQ?

● For institutions, under the lack of long-cycle financial and compliance records, how to set reasonable valuation ranges and holding limits for such companies?

As the index itself becomes a stage for new narratives, information asymmetry and structural volatility will be unavoidable by-products. Regulators hope to alleviate asymmetry through disclosure and rule design, while the market searches for higher-yield opportunities in the gaps of the new rules; this tug-of-war will persist in the long run.

From New Rules to New Order: The Next Act of Web3 Toward Mainstream Indices

In summary, NASDAQ's new rules have restructured the path for large-cap technology and Web3 companies to land in mainstream indices in terms of both timeframe and float requirements: abolishing the 10% float limit opens the door for newly formed companies with tight equity and token structures; introducing the fast track for large-cap IPOs to be included in the NASDAQ-100 within approximately 15 trading days significantly compresses the time lag from IPO to index, making the index not just a “club for mature companies,” but closer to the forefront of cutting-edge technology and new financial infrastructure.

In the coming years, the proportion of crypto and blockchain enterprises within the NASDAQ-100 can be expected to see a significant increase. If themes related to quantum security, post-quantum cryptography migration, and on-chain asset custodianship continue to heat up, then the mixed structure of “crypto-native enterprises + large traditional tech companies” is likely to reshape the industry composition of global technology indices. For the global capital landscape, this means the boundaries between Wall Street flagship indices and crypto economies will further blur, and capital flows will form more frequent rotations and substitutions between traditional tech stocks and crypto infrastructure.

However, a series of key questions remain unresolved: how will regulatory boundaries be redefined under more complex business models? Will the actual progress of quantum security and post-quantum cryptography migration keep pace with the acceleration of index rules and capital? As technology evolves, will the index rules themselves face constant iteration to cope with new risks and asset classes? These uncertainties determine that the contours of the new order have yet to fully clarify.

For investors, in the face of such a regulatory transformation, they should not overlook the structural opportunities it opens, nor can they remain insensitive to the cyclical logic and systemic risks behind the “acceleration mechanism.” On one hand, crypto and Web3 companies that can quickly land on NASDAQ under the new rules and are likely to enter the NASDAQ-100 are indeed more likely to gain additional premiums in valuation and liquidity; on the other hand, within a track lacking historical data and regulatory pricing experience, any market condition accelerated by index inclusion should be viewed through stricter fundamental and risk-constrained frameworks. The new rules provide a faster lane, but not an automatic airbag.

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