A team of seasoned crypto executives is aiming to raise $200 million through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), adding to the surge of blockchain-related firms seeking public market exposure.
Key Takeaways:
Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp. plans to raise $200 million via a Nasdaq-listed crypto SPAC under the ticker “BIXIU.” The SPAC will target firms in Web3, DeFi, and blockchain infrastructure, including wallets and tokenized finance tools. The launch adds to a surge in crypto SPAC activity, with $575 million raised in just two days.The newly formed Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp. Ltd., based in the Cayman Islands, filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday to offer 20 million shares at $10 each.
The firm plans to list on Nasdaq under the ticker “BIXIU.”
Crypto SPAC Targets Web3, DeFi, and Blockchain Finance Sectors
The blank-check company has not yet selected a merger target but said it would focus on firms operating in digital assets, Web3, financial infrastructure, and blockchain-powered sectors such as payments, decentralized finance (DeFi), and cross-border finance.
The company emphasized its intent to back core infrastructure ventures like wallets, custody platforms, exchanges, lending protocols, and tokenized financial tools.
Leading the SPAC is CEO Ryan Gentry, previously head of business development at Lightning Labs, the firm behind Bitcoin’s layer-2 Lightning Network.
Before that, Gentry was an analyst at Multicoin Capital, a venture fund known for its bets on crypto-native firms and rumored to be working on a $1 billion Solana-focused takeover bid with Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto.
Jim DeAngelis will serve as chief financial officer. He most recently led finance at Kroll, a risk advisory firm involved in numerous crypto bankruptcy cases, including FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis.
Kroll is currently facing legal action over a data breach that affected creditor data tied to those bankruptcies.
Also joining the leadership team is Vikas Mittal, chief investment officer at Meteora Capital, which is sponsoring the IPO.
Mittal also chairs CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, another crypto-focused SPAC that raised $230 million in its IPO this week.
The board of Bitcoin Infrastructure features several notable names from the crypto industry. Parker White, a former Kraken engineering director and current COO at DeFi Development Corporation, will chair the board.
Other members include Matt Lohstroh, co-founder of Bitcoin miner Giga Energy, and Tyler Evans, who co-founded Bitcoin Magazine publisher BTC Inc and currently heads UTXO Management.
The launch comes amid a flurry of crypto-linked SPAC activity. In addition to CSLM’s $230 million raise, M3-Brigade Acquisition VI Corp closed a $345 million IPO this week, bringing the two-day SPAC fundraising total to $575 million.
Investor Appetite Surges After Circle’s Blockbuster Debut
The new wave of crypto-focused SPACs comes amid heightened investor interest in digital asset listings. Circle’s June debut saw shares surge nearly 10x from the $31 offering price before settling at $149, underscoring strong market appetite for regulated crypto firms.
This month, institutional exchange Bullish more than tripled from its $37 IPO price on its first trading day, closing near $70 on Friday.
Several other crypto firms, including OKX, Grayscale, and Kraken, have either hinted at or initiated plans to go public. Meanwhile, listed industry leaders like Coinbase and MicroStrategy have recently hit multi-year highs.
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