Adam Back-led bitcoin treasury company to go public via Cantor SPAC in $1.5 billion PIPE deal

After days of rumors, the Adam Back-led Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company announced it has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination with Cantor Equity Partners via a SPAC, in a $1.5 billion PIPE financing, “the largest ever PIPE announced in conjunction with a Bitcoin Treasury SPAC merger,” according to the press release. CEP was down 7% in early trading on the news.

The new company will trade under the ticker “BSTR” when it launches, with 30,021 bitcoin. This would make it “the 4th largest public Bitcoin treasury,” surpassing Riot Platforms, which holds 19,225 bitcoin.

Adam Back, inventor of Hashcash and cofounder of Blockstream, will be CEO of the company. Back said in a statement, “We are putting unprecedented firepower behind a single mission: maximizing bitcoin ownership per share while accelerating real-world Bitcoin adoption. I’m grateful for the trust of the Bitcoin OG community and for the unwavering support of Cantor Fitzgerald.”

Alexander Blume, CEO of Two Prime, told Sherwood News, “It makes a lot of sense for Adam Back to engage in this. He effectively continues to retain his bitcoin, but now through a public vehicle that can tap into public capital markets.” Blume also warned retail investors “to be cautious about not FOMO trading into the entity and becoming exit liquidity for SPAC sponsors and initial investors.”

Bitcoin treasuries have been on a roll this week, with Strategy, the largest corporate bitcoin holder, crossing the 600,000 bitcoin milestone to hold 601,550 bitcoin. Metaplanet picked up another 1,241 bitcoin to bring its total to 16,352, while Sequans acquired 683 bitcoin, to give it 1,053 bitcoin.