The merger of BSTR with Cantor has been delayed: Adam Back's bitcoin ambitions face market reality
Investment company Cantor Equity Partners I has postponed its shareholder meeting, which was set to approve the merger with Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR). The vote was originally scheduled for June 26 but will now take place on July 2. The reason is the need to clarify details related to previous private placements. This move temporarily stalls Adam Back's ambitious plan to list BSTR on the Nasdaq.
Why the Pause is a Market Signal
The delay comes amid a notable decline in the market capitalization of public crypto companies. Many are currently trading at a discount to the value of their underlying assets, creating a risk of capital dilution for investors when issuing new shares. This trend has even affected giant Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) by Michael Saylor, whose shares recently fell below $100 for the first time in two years, while the pace of bitcoin accumulation has slowed. It is clear that the current market conditions are forcing deal organizers to act with particular caution.
BSTR Plans: From SPAC to Top-3 Leaders
The merger deal was announced back in July 2025 and was originally planned to be completed by the end of last year. If the vote succeeds, BSTR will list on Nasdaq, becoming the fifth-largest public holder of bitcoin. Currently, the company's assets amount to 30,021 BTC, of which 25,000 were contributed by the founders, and the remaining 5,021 were raised through a cashless scheme unique to American SPACs.
Back's ambitions extend far beyond current figures. He has already stated plans to raise up to $1.5 billion for new investments, which would allow the acquisition of approximately 23,500 more BTC. If successful, BSTR's potential portfolio would reach 53,500 BTC, making it the second-largest in the world, trailing only MicroStrategy (847,363 BTC) but ahead of Twenty One Capital (43,514 BTC) and Metaplanet (40,177 BTC).
Notably, if successful, Cantor Fitzgerald plans to launch a second similar project, confirming the growing interest of large capital in structured bitcoin instruments. Adam Back himself, known for creating Hashcash and founding Blockstream, has already refuted rumors of his connection to bitcoin's creator, but his current project is clearly aimed at entering the history of the crypto industry as one of its key institutional players.
My Analysis: The delay in the vote is not a failure but rather a tactical pause. The public crypto asset market is currently overheated with skepticism, and the BSTR team clearly wants to go public at a more favorable time. If they manage to close the deal, it will be a powerful signal of the sector's maturity and attract new institutional capital. However, betting on further bitcoin growth remains a key risk for this project.