Ionic Digital up 26% on Nasdaq debut, pivots to AI

Ionic Digital, a bitcoin mining and artificial intelligence infrastructure company formed from the bankruptcy of Celsius Network, saw its shares rise sharply in its Nasdaq debut on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. The stock opened at $50, climbed throughout the trading session, and closed at $62.90, a gain of approximately 26% from its opening price. Based on roughly 44.9 million shares outstanding, the closing price gave the company a market valuation of about $2.8 billion.

The listing was structured as a direct listing, meaning the company did not issue new shares or raise capital. Instead, the debut provided a public market for existing shareholders, primarily former creditors of Celsius Network who received Ionic Digital equity as part of the crypto lender's court-approved restructuring plan. Nasdaq had set a reference price of $53 for the opening auction, which Renaissance Capital noted implied a $2.4 billion valuation and marked the largest U.S. direct listing since 2021.

Ionic Digital was created in January 2024 to acquire the mining assets of Celsius Mining following Celsius Network's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in July 2022. The company has since pivoted its business model,...