RYVYL stock surges 12% after NASDAQ greenlight ahead of merger announcement

NASDAQ has notified RYVYL Inc. (NASDAQ: RVYL) that it has achieved the required shareholder equity threshold and is no longer at risk of delisting ahead of its merger with RTB Digital, Inc. (“Roundtable”), Roundtable CEO James Heckman and RYVYL announced on Oct. 15.

Roundtable is a Web3 digital media software as-a-service (SaaS) platform company fortified and powered by a Bitcoin liquidity pool.

RYVYL, a fintech company, operates a global digital payment processing business enabling secure and efficient transactions around the world.

$75M merger agreement

The two companies entered into a $75 million merger agreement on Sept. 30, under which Roundtable’s brand, technology, and SaaS network will combine with RYVYL’s digital payment infrastructure. The goal is to accelerate revenue and growth for Roundtable’s premium media clients, such as TheStreet, Yahoo, and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Football Club. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.

Related: Roundtable CEO James Heckman Executes $75M Merger Agreement with RYVYL to Power Web3 Digital Media Platform on a Bitcoin Treasury Ecosystem

The latest confirmation from NASDAQ follows a direct, fully funded capital investment by Roundtable into RYVYL, strengthening the fintech firm’s balance sheet and ensuring compliance with NASDAQ’s listing requirements.

RYVYL is also seeking shareholder approval for a planned 15:1 reverse stock split at its 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled for Oct. 30. Once approved, the split will help the company maintain compliance with NASDAQ’s minimum share price requirement ahead of the Dec. 9 deadline.

RYVYL stock jumped more than 12% following the announcement, trading at $0.3830 at press time. The stock has gained roughly 35% over the past month.

Not a crypto treasury but a SAAS platform powered by Bitcoin liquidity pool

Unlike the crypto treasury mergers and SPAC transactions currently trending, Roundtable operates a fully funded enterprise SaaS business with no investor capital held in escrow, CEO James Heckman clarified for investors.

“It’s important shareholders understand that our Bitcoin-powered liquidity pool is a competitive advantage for our Web3 SaaS platform business,” said Heckman. “Our revolutionary DeFi media-liquidity pool powers a decentralized payment system that ensures total financial control and sovereignty for our partners and journalists.”

Roundtable’s co-founders and strategic partners include:

Walton Comer, Incoming Chair, XBTO co-founder, Lucid Holdings co-founder, and founding investor in Deribit (recently acquired by Coinbase) Aly Madhavji, Managing Partner, Blockchain Founders Fund David Bailey, CEO of Nakamoto, Bitcoin Conference and Magazine Mike Alexander, former CEO of Jefferies Asia and CEO of Bullish’s EOS Venture Capital Fund W. Graeme Roustan, Roundtable co-founder, former Chairman of Bauer Hockey, and owner of The Hockey News Brock Pierce, Tether co-founder and early Bitcoin visionary

Story Continues

Eyal Hertzog: The architect behind Roundtable’s ‘DeWeb’ platform

Eyal Hertzog, Roundtable’s co-founder and chief architect of the DeWeb platform, brings deep blockchain and media innovation experience to the company’s foundation.

A serial entrepreneur and technologist, Hertzog is the inventor and patent holder of key DeFi protocols, including automated market-making and liquidity pool mechanisms, the foundational technologies that underpin decentralized finance today.

Prior to Roundtable, Hertzog co-founded Bancor, the first decentralized liquidity network, and helped pioneer automated on-chain trading models that reshaped DeFi. Earlier in his career, he created MetaCafe, one of the first social video-sharing platforms, where he designed the internet’s first social video recommendation algorithm, years before YouTube’s algorithmic curation model emerged.

At Roundtable, Hertzog’s DeWeb infrastructure fuses these technical breakthroughs into a blockchain-powered SaaS media ecosystem, offering publishers real-time payments, transparent reporting, and direct audience ownership.

“We are excited to bring our large-scale vision to the public marketplace,” said Hertzog.

He added:

"Media companies everywhere have lost control of their IP and have forfeited economics and distribution - now more than ever as a result of AI co-opting their content – and face opaque revenue and traffic reporting. ‘Followers’ are a myth, payments are delayed for months, and audience data is taken and auctioned off to competitors. We created our platform to help major media brands and professional content creators reclaim ownership, control, and value over their content investments"

The way forward

Once the merger is finalized:

James Heckman will become CEO. Walton Comer will become Chairman. The company will rebrand as RTB Digital, Inc., doing business as “Roundtable.” Six new directors will be appointed by RTB, while independent director Brett Moyer will remain. All other incumbent directors of RYVYL will step down.

During his extensive career, Heckman founded and led Arena (NYSE: AREN), which grew into a nine-figure public company powering publishing, distribution, and monetization for more than 300 brands, including TheStreet, Sports Illustrated, Maxim, and History.com. He previously led global media strategy at Yahoo!, and served as Chief Strategy Officer at Fox Interactive, where he helped design the first social-targeted ad platform for MySpace and contributed to Hulu’s original business architecture.

Heckman has also founded, taken public, or sold more than ten major digital media ventures, including Rivals.com (acquired by Yahoo!), Scout.com (acquired by Fox), 5to1.com (public, then acquired by Yahoo!), NFL Exclusive, and Arena.

Disclosure: Roundtable and its affiliates have a direct financial interest in the securities of the company discussed. This communication should not be construed as investment advice.

This story was originally reported by TheStreet on Oct 15, 2025, where it first appeared in the MARKETS section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

View Comments