Ryan Gentry, former business lead at Lightning Labs, has launched a Bitcoin-focused special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) valued at $200 million. The new entity, named Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp., will trade under the ticker “BIXIU” on Nasdaq.
Based in the Cayman Islands, the company intends to offer 20 million shares priced at $10 each. Its mission is to merge with a private business and take it public, though a target has yet to be identified. The company’s regulatory filing outlines its focus on firms working in digital assets, Web3, and blockchain-powered financial infrastructure.
It specifically aims to connect with businesses that build wallets, custody solutions, lending protocols, and tokenized financial products. Management also highlighted potential in payments, decentralized finance, and cross-border settlement.
Ryan Gentry industry leaders join management and board
Bitcoin Infrastructure’s leadership features several well-known figures in the crypto ecosystem. Ryan Gentry will serve as chief executive, bringing years of experience from Lightning Labs and earlier work as an analyst at Multicoin Capital. James DeAngelis has been named chief financial officer, with a background in finance roles at Kroll, a firm active in major crypto bankruptcy cases.
Vikas Mittal, the Meteora Capital chief investment officer, also will be a director. Meteora is endorsing the IPO, and it once brought Bitcoin Depot public through a separate SPAC. Mittal also runs CSLM Digital Asset Acquisition Corp III, which just raised $230 million for buying a company that specializes in crypto.
The board is broader than finance and has a mixed lineup of crypto builders. Bitcoin Infrastructure appointed Parker White, a former Kraken exec and now COO of DeFi Development Corp, as chair. Matt Lohstroh, one of the founders of Giga Energy, and Tyler Evans, co-founder of BTC Inc and UTXO Management, also lead. Evans now leads investments at Kindly, a company that was once a merged entity of a company named Nakamoto Holdings in the healthcare space.
Bitcoin Crypto SPAC wave continues
Bitcoin Infrastructure’s entrance adds to a wave of crypto-specialized SPACs that have come into U.S. markets. Two blank-check firms collected $575 million in the last two days alone. Aside from CSLM’s $230 million deal, M3-Brigade Acquisition VI Corp collected $345 million in its own IPO.
These filings come at the end of a year that saw several high-profile crypto initial public offerings. Cryptocurrency exchange Bullish and stablecoin issuer Circle both went to the public markets in recent times.
With institutional attention focused on digital currencies, SPACs have become a popular method for blockchain startups seeking access to public capital. The Bitcoin Infrastructure Acquisition Corp therefore joins its name in this trend, and would introduce yet another crypto company into the limelight.
