SPAC Frenzy: Crypto Firms Turbocharge Public Listings in 2025’s Bull Market

Blank-check deals become the crypto industry's golden ticket to Wall Street—skipping the IPO queue like VIPs at a bull-run nightclub.

SPACs: The backdoor IPO

Forget roadshows and regulatory limbo. Crypto startups are merging with shell companies at warp speed, cashing in on retail investor FOMO while traditional finance watches from the sidelines. One exec calls it 'DeFi for the NYSE.'

Wall Street's love-hate tango

Investment banks still publicly scorn digital assets—while quietly collecting fees on these deals. The irony? SPACs were yesterday's meme stocks. Now they're rebranded as 'Web3 accelerators.'

Closing thought: Nothing says financial innovation like using 2020's most overhyped vehicle to launch 2025's most speculative assets. The cycle continues.

A growing number of crypto-focused firms are bypassing traditional IPO routes and heading straight to the public markets through SPACs (Special Purpose Acquisition Companies). The trend reflects a broader shift in how digital asset companies are approaching scale, investor exposure, and regulatory navigation—all while putting Bitcoin directly on their balance sheets.

A SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) is a publicly listed shell company created to acquire a private business, allowing that business to go public without a traditional IPO. For crypto firms, SPACs offer an attractive alternative to navigating regulatory hurdles and the lengthy IPO process.

The deals provide capital, market access, and media attention, without requiring immediate SEC approval for digital asset products. These listings also allow crypto firms to better control the narrative around their value proposition.

SPAC Enabled Bitcoin Treasury Plays Hit the Market

In June crypto content creator and entrepreneur  Anthony Pompliano’s newly launched ProCap BTC wasted no time executing its bitcoin treasury strategy, purchasing 3,724 bitcoin worth $386 million just one day after announcing its $1 billion SPAC merger to go public.

“We believe Bitcoin is the new hurdle rate. If you can’t beat it, you have to buy it,” Pompliano said on X. A hurdle rate is the minimum rate of return that an investment must achieve to be considered worthwhile, essentially the benchmark that any investment opportunity must ‘hurdle’ over to justify the risk and effort.

Source: Anthony Pompliano X

The statement “Bitcoin is the new hurdle rate” suggests that Bitcoin’s explosive returns have become the new baseline standard that other investments must beat, shifting from being seen as a risky alternative asset to being the benchmark that stocks, bonds, and other investments are now measured against.

Procap BTC says it plans to raise as much as US$1 billion to buy BTC as part of an ongoing business strategy.  The deal has so far raised more than US$750 million, bringing in US$526 million in equity and US$235 million in convertible notes.

On July 8th, it was announced that Reserve One, a newly created digital assets management firm, will debut on the Nasdaq. The company plans to accumulate a digital asset stockpile, which will include Bitcoin, Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), among other cryptocurrencies that could be Leveraged in staking and lending. ReserveONE is going public by combining with M3-Brigade Acquisition V Corp. (MBAV).

The deal is set to be worth US$1 billion. US$298 million will be trust capital. US$750 million has been committed by strategic investors, including Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, and Kraken. And it’s not just Bitcoin – NASDAQ-listed company, VivoPower, which was in DEEP financial difficulty, was recently bailed out by Saudi Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Abdulaziz Al Saud who invested $100 million in XRP into the company’s treasury – turning it from struggling renewable energy firm to XRP-focused digital asset company.

Why Crypto Companies Prefer SPACs Over IPOs

SPACs give crypto firms an edge over traditional IPOs in several ways:

• Faster process: No prolonged pre-IPO fundraising roadshows.
• Valuation flexibility: Companies negotiate directly with sponsors.
• Narrative control: They can communicate their crypto-centric vision more clearly.

For a fast-moving, sometimes misunderstood industry like crypto, this can be a strategic win.

In jurisdictions like the U.S., crypto companies face unclear or restrictive rules from regulators like the SEC. SPACs provide a workaround. By merging with a compliant shell company, crypto businesses can list shares while continuing to innovate in digital finance, which continues to be backed by the current US President, Donald Trump’s administration.

How SPAC Listings Give Investors Indirect Exposure to Bitcoin

For traditional investors wary of self-custody or volatility, SPAC-listed firms like Procap BTC offer a stock-market proxy to BTC exposure with Procap offering equity investors high-beta access to crypto market movements via its treasury.

As macroeconomic concerns push capital toward hard assets, more companies are exploring Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. Tools like bitcointreasuries.net now track dozens of firms, from Tesla to regional players, that are holding BTC on their balance sheets. SPAC deals may accelerate this trend, especially for smaller firms looking to differentiate.

The top public bitcoin treasury company is the US software company Strategy (formerly known as MicroStrategy). Kevin Maina of Brave New Coin explains, “Since 2020, Strategy has amassed substantial Bitcoin reserves, positioning itself as the largest publicly traded corporate holder of the digital asset. While the firm still maintains its software business, its valuation and market presence are now largely tied to its cryptocurrency investments.”

The strategy has led to a dramatic increase in market cap, by over ~US$108 billion. It has soared in price while other business intelligence companies have stagnated.

SPACs Are Building Rails Between Wall Street and Web3

The emerging pattern is clear: SPACs are becoming a bridge between traditional capital markets and the decentralized future. While ETFs and tokenized equities are gaining traction, SPACs provide an immediate, scalable way for capital to FLOW into the crypto space, without needing to rewrite securities law first.

As investors seek diversified exposure to digital assets and firms look for efficient ways to access liquidity, the SPAC route could become a new norm.. These moves align with both investor demand and the crypto ethos, offering public access to private innovation. As regulation evolves, expect more crypto firms to follow this blueprint.