Quantum Computing Rally Comes to a Halt as Market Cap Drops by 1 Trillion Won in a Day

IonQ (IONQ INC: IONQ) closed at $43.24 on the New York Stock Exchange on the 29th, down 5.62%. Trading volume topped 11 million shares, and its market capitalization contracted to about $15.3 billion (approximately KRW 20 trillion), wiping out roughly $815 million (around KRW 1.1 trillion) in a single day.

Recently, IonQ has pursued the $1.8 billion (roughly KRW 2.4 trillion) acquisition of U.S. semiconductor firm SkyWater Technology, bolstering its vertical integration strategy that spans quantum computers through chip production. With the global quantum computing market forecast to reach about $2 billion by 2026, IonQ is also expanding long-term contracts—from several hundred thousand to tens of millions of dollars—with partners such as KISTI and Swiss Quantum Basel, driving revenue growth primarily in defense and government sectors.

Founded in College Park, Maryland, as a trapped-ion quantum computing company, IonQ went public on the NYSE via a SPAC merger in 2021. Since Nicolo De Masi took the helm as CEO in 2025, the company has accelerated its global infrastructure expansion and the development of quantum platforms for defense and industrial applications, supplying quantum systems to customers in Korea, Europe and beyond.