A group of crypto executives is joining forces to raise $200 million to take their blank-check company public amid a surge in crypto-related IPOs.
The Cayman Islands–based Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp Ltd, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), filed with regulators on Wednesday to offer 20 million shares at $10 each on the Nasdaq under the ticker “BIXIU.”
The SPAC intends to merge with an existing company to bring it public, though a target has not yet been selected. Its focus will be on firms involved in digital assets, Web3 technologies, financial services infrastructure, and other blockchain-driven business models.
According to the filing, the leadership team is “well-positioned to identify businesses building core infrastructure such as wallets, custody solutions, exchanges, lending protocols, and tokenized financial instruments, as well as real-world applications of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies, including payments, DeFi, and cross-border finance.”
This move comes as Wall Street has poured billions into crypto-linked companies that have gone public this year, including stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group and crypto exchange Bullish. SPACs have raised billions more with promises to take private crypto firms public.
Crypto-tied executives lead Bitcoin Infrastructure SPAC
Bitcoin Infrastructure will be led by CEO Ryan Gentry, who spent the past five years overseeing business development at Lightning Labs, the team behind Bitcoin’s Layer 2 Lightning Network.
Gentry also previously served two years as lead analyst at Multicoin Capital, a venture firm backing numerous crypto projects. The firm is reportedly collaborating with Galaxy Digital and Jump Crypto to raise $1 billion to acquire a public company and transform it into a Solana (SOL) treasury.
The company appointed James “Jim” DeAngelis as its chief financial officer. DeAngelis previously led finance at Kroll, a risk advisory firm that serves as the claims agent in several crypto bankruptcy cases and is currently facing a lawsuit alleging negligence over a data breach affecting creditors of FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis.
Vikas Mittal will join the board and management team. Mittal is the chief investment officer at Meteora Capital, the investment firm sponsoring Bitcoin Infrastructure’s IPO and the creator of a SPAC that took crypto ATM operator Bitcoin Depot public in 2023.
Mittal also serves as chair and CFO of CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, a SPAC that recently closed a $230 million IPO with plans to acquire a crypto company.
Crypto experts fill Bitcoin Infrastructure’s board
Bitcoin Infrastructure has filled its board with seasoned crypto executives.
Parker White, the company’s chair, is a former engineering director at crypto exchange Kraken and currently serves as operating and investment chief at DeFi Development Corporation, a real-estate tech firm that has pivoted to acquiring Solana assets.
The board also includes Matt Lohstroh, co-founder of crypto mining company Giga Energy, and Tyler Evans, co-founder of BTC Inc, publisher of Bitcoin Magazine, and the Bitcoin-focused investment firm UTXO Management. Evans recently became investment chief at healthcare firm Kindly MD, which merged with Bitcoin-focused holding company Nakamoto Holdings to form a Bitcoin-buying firm now aiming to raise $5 billion.
Crypto-focused SPACs pull in $575 million in just two days
Two SPACs have collectively raised $575 million in just two days, both aiming at the crypto sector.
CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III completed a $230 million IPO on Thursday, while blank-check firm M3-Brigade Acquisition VI Corp closed a $345 million IPO the same day.
M3-Brigade sold 34.5 million shares at $10 each on the Nasdaq. The firm’s previous SPAC took crypto management company ReserveOne public in July.
