To the CEOBLOC readers, long-term investors, creators, operators, skeptics, supporters, traders who became observers, observers who became students, and everyone who has followed this journey,

For two years, I’ve been writing about the same core idea:

The system is rigged, but not unbreakable.

I’ve written about toxic lenders, broken capital markets, synthetic liquidity loops, boxed floats, how the thing is never the thing, how microcaps have been abandoned by the very infrastructure that once supported innovation, and how algorithmic dominance has replaced human price discovery.

I’ve argued both loudly, and publicly that the only hope for smaller public companies is to out-engineer the structure, not chase the chart. That the world of capital today requires strategy, discipline, and an almost obsessive commitment to fundamentals, narrative honesty, and structural competence.

Today, I’m writing one of the most important letters of all.

The Road to a National Exchange

Two years ago, when Creatd was forced off NASDAQ, there were two choices: panic or build.

We chose to build. We built with disciplined structure and not hype, the very theme I’ve written about in nearly every article.

Now we are preparing to re-list with a national exchange.

All exchanges require any company doing a direct listing to have:

1. Real net equity

2. Real operating history

3. A real shareholder base

4. A clean and stable public float

Most microcaps talk about uplisting the same way people talk about winning the lottery.

But this is not a lottery ticket, it is a blueprint. And we followed it.

1. Net Equity: The Necessary Foundation

We rebuilt our foundation first.

Through disciplined acquisitions, balance-sheet restructuring, strategic M&A, and a strict avoidance of toxic financing, Creatd strengthened its net equity to nearly $20 million.

NYSE American requires $4 million in shareholder's equity, and Nasdaq Capital Market requires between $4-5 million. The continuing listing standard is $2.5 million for both.

We sit above both by a wide margin, because I know exactly what it feels like to be knocked off an exchange over net equity. I lived through that once, and I vowed never again to operate with so little room for error in a world where over-regulated audits and aggressive toxic lenders can trigger sudden, artificial drops in net equity.

That experience shaped our approach. It’s why we built a real cushion, and why the foundation is solid now.

2. Operating History

Any company uplisting to NYSE or Nasdaq needs two years of audited financials, and have quarterly filings consistently submitted. Creatd’s revenue-bearing business is expanding with the acquisition of Flyte and its investments in PCG.

Our assets are increasing. Our liabilities are shrinking. We have a diversified operational base designed to withstand volatility across our portfolio.

3. Public Float Stability

We resisted the temptation to reverse split early on, before we had other fundamentals in place. This is a trap that kills small companies. We watched, with gritted teeth, as toxic shareholders sold out, and watched our stock price fall with it. But we knew that as a result, our would float be controlled, deliberate, and functional, just as we were ready to uplist.

Today it serves as an asset, not a promotional tool.

4. Shareholder Distribution

This brings us to the final requirement which cannot be engineered by filings, strategy, or internal effort.

In addition to minimum financial requirements, both exchanges want to see 400 round-lot shareholders (100+ shares each), that are preferably unrestricted and held in street name rather than at the transfer agent.

This is the only requirement the community must fulfill.

Everything else? We’ve already built.

The Final Chapter: A Community Battles the Algorithms

I’ve been saying it for months across my articles:

We are in a war with the algos, and perhaps one day AI itself as the markets weave a tighter web around the golden goose of trading.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth no CEO is willing to say out loud:

Algorithmic systems cannot be beaten with a press release.

They cannot be beaten with fundamentals alone.

They cannot be beaten with “good news.”

They can only be beaten with structure.

And the only structural force algo designers fear is diversified, committed, real-life human ownership.

Collective intelligence is essentially a form of organic human behavior that can in theory be as powerful as AI.

If a reverse split becomes necessary as a listing mechanical requirement, then a holder of 2,500 shares today becomes a holder of 125 shares post-split, comfortably exceeding the 100-share threshold.

But more importantly:

Buying 2,500 shares of CRTD today gives you leverage against the algorithms tomorrow.

And that is why we need 400 real investors holding ~2,500 shares each.

Not because we are trying to pump a price or trying to manipulate trading. We are not promising short-term returns, and no one can predict tomorrow’s price. I certainly cannot.

But because 1 million shares of organic accumulation fundamentally alters the market structure. And that, in turn, is what algorithmic systems cannot counter.

This is not a day-trade or meme-run. It is a structural action that meets a structural requirement.

If we complete this, the uplisting window can open. Natural price discovery can occur. We can neutralize the artificial suppression that has dominated small-cap markets for years.

Why This is an Open Letter and Why You Are Reading It

Because the last requirement to uplist–that of a strong community–is not mine to fulfill.

It belongs to you.

It belongs to CEOBLOC readers, Creatd shareholders, supporters who believe in fairness, traders who see a broken system, observers who understand this moment, and anyone who has ever felt the market is engineered against the individual

This is the one structural lever that cannot be automated.

Ultimately, we must reach at least 400 real, street-name shareholders each holding ~2,500 shares.

That achieves:

• Exchange compliance

• Float stability

• Distributed ownership

• Resistance to manipulation

• A unified base heading into the price and volume requirements

• The foundation for an NYSE American application two years in the making

This is how we reclaim the narrative.

This is how we outsmart the algos.

This is how we finish what began two years ago.

This is the Ask

Buy 2,500 shares of CRTD.

Spread the word.

Share this letter.

Explain the mechanics.

Encourage long-term thinking.

Encourage ownership, not speculation.

If you choose to participate, participate with clarity.

This is not about predicting the price next week.

This is not about a quick flip.

This is about structural force, not emotional trading.

It is about whether human investors aligned, informed and intentional that can do something the algos cannot anticipate:

Build a shareholder base strong enough to uplift an honest business through a system designed to keep them out.

Two years of engineering brought us here.

Looking Forward,

Jeremy Frommer