Morning Roundup: January 11, 2024

At the SPAC of Dawn

After a few fits, starts and hacks, the first spot Bitcoin ETFs are set to trade later today.

The move has been long-awaited by the crypto community as it has been seen as a means of quickly widening the asset’s ownership base, and therefore serve as the sort of catalyst that would push up demand – and therefore, prices – all of its own.

That has so far been the case with Bitcoin sailing above $47,000 once again and Etherium scraping $2,640, but it remains to be seen how much confidence in this move’s eventuality was already priced in. Optimism in this sphere has been going the opposite direction in Bitcoin-related SPACs for several years running.

Although 2021 hosted six completed crypto SPAC deals, there were only half as many in 2022 and just one new one  – Global Blockchain‘s (NASDAQ:GBBK) pending combination with Cardea – was announced in 2023.

Two searching SPACs Blockchain Coinvestors I (NASDAQ:BCSA) and Goldenstone  (NASDAQ:GDST), remain on the hunt for crypto targets, but that number may not shoot up right away, given that a wider regulatory resistance to crypto on the public markets remains. In fact, although SEC Chair Gary Gensler allowed the ETFs, he made sure to note that “we did not approve or endorse Bitcoin,” and the agency continues to view trading crypto trading platforms in particular with skepticism.

That skepticism has been felt acutely by crypto SPACs. Adit EdTech‘s combination with Griid Infrastructure was the most recent SPAC crypto deal to close and it required 25 months to get from announcement to completion, requiring the SPAC to ask shareholders for three extensions in the interim.

Two other pending SPAC deals – Arisz‘s (NASDAQ:ARIS) with BitFuFu and Thunder Bridge IV‘s (NASDAQ:THCP) with CoinCheck – are coming up on the two-year anniversaries of their announcements on January 25 and March 22, respectively.

News and Rumors

• PR: Intuitive Machines (NASDAQ:LUNR), which combined with Inflection Point in February 2023, announced a warrant exercise agreement with an existing investor to purchase 4,705,883 ordinary shares through the exercise of a Series B warrant. The move is expected to raise $11.8 million for the company and the investor is to receive a new warrant to exercise for an equal number of shares as well as a New Series A Warrant, subject to shareholder approval.
• Reuters: NuScale Power (NYSE:SMR), which combined with Spring Valley in 2022, took a major dip Wednesday as it was revealed that the company’s contract for Carbon Free Power Project had foundered, eliminating much of the nuclear power firm’s near-term revenue.

International SPACs

• Singapore-based SPAC NOVO Tellus Alpha Acquisition (SI:NTA) will not complete a business combination and will instead liquidate following two other SPACs in the country at the end of 2023.