Financial giant Cantor Fitzgerald is reportedly in the final stages of finalizing a Bitcoin acquisition deal worth approximately $4 billion.
Interestingly, according to a Financial Times report, this major transaction will not take place on a stock exchange or through an ETF, but rather through a direct partnership with Adam Back, the founder of Blockstream, known as one of the pioneers of the technology behind Bitcoin.
Back will reportedly deposit about 30,000 BTC into Cantor’s special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in exchange for shares.
Once the acquisition is complete, the SPAC will change its name to BSTR Holdings and transform into a public company with a single focus: holding a large amount of Bitcoin. The scheme is quite unique.
Instead of building products or services, they are raising funds and directly purchasing digital assets, much like Strategy. In fact, it’s not just 30,000 BTC; Cantor is also raising an additional $800 million in fresh funds for further Bitcoin purchases. Its total exposure could approach $4 billion.
Is Cantor Fitzgerald quietly building a Bitcoin empire?
For those who don’t know, Adam Back is the creator of Hashcash, the system that became the precursor to Bitcoin’s proof-of-work. He’s also known as a key figure in the cryptocurrency space since its inception, even frequently mentioned in Satoshi’s Bitcoin whitepaper.
So, when he chose to invest thousands of BTC in a SPAC like this, many viewed it as a somewhat unusual move.
On the other hand, Cantor Fitzgerald appears to be increasingly aggressive in accumulating Bitcoin. They were previously involved in other large transactions with SoftBank and Tether. In total, the Bitcoin exposure of Cantor-affiliated entities this year has reached nearly $10 billion.
This figure has some market participants wondering: are we witnessing the emergence of a new player on the scale of Strategy?
What makes the timing even more interesting is the fact that this deal coincides with the deliberations on crypto regulation in the US Congress. The term “Crypto Week” has recently become a trend among politicians and market participants.
While there’s still no certainty regarding the final legal framework, Cantor and Back’s move seems to indicate that some institutions are no longer willing to wait.
If approved by shareholders and authorities, BSTR Holdings could immediately join the list of public companies with the largest Bitcoin holdings in the world.