coindesk.com
The deal between early Bitcoin
Named Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), the firm announced on Thursday it plans to go public by merging with Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO), a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) affiliated with the Wall Street investment bank run by Brandon Lutnick, son of Trump administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Back, a cryptography pioneer and creator of Hashcash that inspired Bitcoin’s proof-of-work consensus mechanism, will lead the firm as CEO. Sean Bill, a veteran investor who previously helped a U.S. pension fund make one of the first institutional allocations to BTC, is joining as CIO.
According to plans, the firm would debut with over 30,000 BTC, over $3.5 billion at current prices, on its balance sheet, immediately making BSTR the fourth-largest holder of bitcoin among publicly traded companies. The firm is also raising up to $1.5 billion in financing through a private placement in public equity (PIPE). At current prices, that $1.5 billion would buy more than another 12,500 bitcoin, potentially moving BSTR into the number three spot, behind just Strategy's mammoth 601,000 coins and MARA Holdings' 50,000.
That initial bitcoin stash comes from founding shareholders including Back contributing 25,000 BTC, plus 5,021 BTC in-kind contribution from early investors. The financing includes $400 million in equity offering, $750 million in convertible notes and $350 million in preferred stock. CEPO would also contribute up to $200 million, subject to shareholder redemptions.
The announcement comes as crypto treasury firms, are captivating Wall Street, seeking to mirror the playbook of Michael Saylor's Strategy that has become the world's largest corporate BTC owner. The Financial Times first reported on Tuesday that Adam Back and Cantor Fitzgerald were nearing an agreement to form a BTC treasury firm with 30,000 BTC.
CEPO was down 8% on Thursday following the announcement, though still higher by nearly 20% from the time the Back investment was leaked on Tuesday afternoon.
Read more: Cantor Equity Partners 1 Gains 25% on $3.5B Bitcoin Deal With Adam Back