Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company has agreed to merge with Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO) in a SPAC transaction that will take the Bitcoin-focused treasury vehicle public on Nasdaq under the ticker BSTR once the deal is closed.
The parties signed the Business Combination Agreement dated July 16 and released the announcement today.
BSTR plans to launch with 30,021 Bitcoin (BTC) and up to $1.5 billion in fiat PIPE financing, with the CEPO trust contributing up to roughly $200 million, subject to redemptions.
The financing stack includes $400 million of common equity committed at $10 per share, up to $750 million of convertible senior notes convertible at $13, and up to $350 million of convertible preferred stock also convertible at a common‑stock equivalent of $13.
The company also secured 5,021 BTC in-kind PIPE funding, which long-time Bitcoin participants provided at a $10 share reference price.
Founding shareholders advised by Blockstream Capital Partners will contribute 25,000 BTC at the same $10 reference.
BSTR stated that combined resources would give it the fourth-largest publicly reported corporate Bitcoin treasury as of July 17.
Notably, the announcement confirms recent reports that Cantor Fitzgerald was in talks to acquire approximately $3 billion in Bitcoin from Blockstream.
Veterans join as executives
Adam Back will serve as CEO, and Sean Bill as chief investment officer. Back is known for inventing Hashcash, the proof-of-work system cited in the Bitcoin white paper, and co-founding Blockstream.
Bill previously helped advance one of the earliest Bitcoin allocations by a US public pension plan and has focused on integrating digital assets into institutional portfolios.
BSTR frames its mandate as accumulating Bitcoin, generating in‑kind Bitcoin yield, and advising corporates and sovereigns on Bitcoin-denominated treasury strategies, measured in BTC per share.
Back said in the announcement:
“By securing both fiat and Bitcoin funding on day one — including the first convertible preferred round announced in conjunction with a Bitcoin treasury SPAC merger — we are putting unprecedented firepower behind a single mission: maximizing Bitcoin ownership per share while accelerating real-world Bitcoin adoption.”
Cantor Equity Partners I chairman Brandon Lutnick called the transaction “another step towards the integration of the Bitcoin economy and traditional finance.”
The merger was approved by the boards of both BSTR and CEPO. Closing will require approval from CEPO shareholders and the fulfillment of customary conditions.
CEPO will file additional information, including the Business Combination Agreement, PIPE documentation, and an investor presentation, in current reports on Form 8-K and a forthcoming Form S-4 registration statement, which will contain the prospectus materials.
