Nasdaq Proposes $5M Delisting Threshold, Drawing US Small-Cap Pushback

Nasdaq's push targets a real abuse vector, but the objection is structural: a fixed dollar floor treats micro-cap volatility and genuine distress as the same thing, and the companies most exposed are domestic small businesses that already struggle for listing venues. The SEC's pause signals the threshold itself is the contested variable, not the anti-manipulation goal. What matters next is whether the comment process produces a graduated or time-based standard rather than a flat number, since that choice determines how many of the roughly 190 affected issuers get a path to stay listed.