TL;DR
- Cantor Equity Partners 1 SPAC is set to swap equity for 30,000 BTC (around $4 billion) from Blockstream founder Adam Back, rebranding as BSTR Holdings to focus on a massive Bitcoin treasury.
- Adam Back will contribute over $3 billion in BTC in-kind, while Cantor plans an additional $800 million fundraising, potentially pushing total capital deployment well past $4 billion.
- Spearheaded by Brandon Lutnick’s aggressive crypto push, the deal highlights a trend of Bitcoin-native public companies that could amass close to $10 billion in BTC this year.
Cantor Fitzgerald’s newly minted SPAC, Cantor Equity Partners 1, is reportedly inches away from sealing a blockbuster $4 billion Bitcoin acquisition with blockchain luminary Adam Back. Launched in January following a $200 million IPO, the blank-check company is prepared to exchange equity for more than 30,000 BTC from Back’s Blockstream Capital. Should negotiations wrap up as expected, the merged entity will rebrand to BSTR Holdings, signaling a full-throttle push into Bitcoin treasury operations.
Blockstream’s In-Kind Bitcoin Contribution
Under the draft agreement, Adam Back will transfer more than $3 billion worth of Bitcoin into the SPAC in exchange for freshly issued shares. This in-kind contribution not only aligns Back’s interests with public investors but also accelerates Cantor’s goal of building one of the largest on-balance-sheet Bitcoin hoards in corporate history.
In parallel, Cantor intends to raise an additional $800 million from external backers to bulk up its Bitcoin position, potentially driving total capital deployment well past the $4 billion mark.
Brandon Lutnick Steers the Ship
Leading this ambitious deal is Brandon Lutnick, Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald, who took over operational control earlier this year. The 27-year-old executive has already overseen a $3.6 billion Bitcoin purchase alongside SoftBank and Tether, and he’s now doubling down on crypto via SPAC infrastructure.
Lutnick’s rapid ascent, from succeeding his father, Howard Lutnick, as chairman to orchestrating multi-billion-dollar crypto transactions, underscores Cantor’s strategy of leveraging traditional finance muscle to seize digital-asset opportunities.
Forging a New Class of Bitcoin Companies
This transaction exemplifies a broader trend: the rise of public vehicles engineered exclusively around Bitcoin accumulation. By bypassing conventional acquisition routes, industry giants are rewriting corporate finance playbooks, treating Bitcoin not as a mere treasury afterthought but as the core operating asset.
If finalized, Cantor’s combined SPAC ventures, including Twenty One Capital, could amass close to $10 billion in Bitcoin this year. With institutional flows surging and regulatory clarity on the horizon, BSTR Holdings could emerge as the flagship model for future Bitcoin-native public firms.
