Bitcoin Depot, North America’s largest brand of Bitcoin (BTC) dispensers, is going public in an $885 million SPAC merger. The company currently owns more than 7,000 distributors spread across the U.S. and Canada and currently holds more than 19% of the overall market share.
Bitcoin Depot makes its debut on Nasdaq
According to a report revealed by the Wall Street Journal, Bitcoin Depot, the largest provider of Bitcoin (BTC) ATMs in North America, is going public.
The company will merge with GSR II Meteora Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in an $885 million deal. Bitcoin Depot will effectively become a public company listed on Nasdaq, the second largest stock market behind the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
A company categorized as a SPAC is a publicly traded company with no specific business (shell firm) created for the purpose of acquiring or merging with another existing company in order to take it public, as is the case here.
Based in Atlanta, Bitcoin Depot claims to be the largest provider of Bitcoin ATMs in North America, with more than 7,000 ATMs in the United States and Canada. This type of ATMs, which are not very present in France, make it possible to buy Bitcoin, Ether (ETH) or Litecoin (BTC) in a simplified way, often with a simple QR code.
Brandon Mintz, Bitcoin Depot’s CEO, said the company is continuing to grow exponentially, despite a bear market that has taken hold:
“We’re actually doing fantastically well right now, regardless of the market.”
Finally, the Bitcoin Depot CEO also revealed that future acquisitions would be coming once the company returns to the Nasdaq.
Bitcoin ATMs under scrutiny
Cryptocurrency ATMs, also known as Bitcoin ATMs, are often accused of facilitating money laundering or more generally criminal activities, which may have led to their total ban in some places, including Singapore.
Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, require companies offering such ATMs to comply with their regulations. As a result, all ATMs in the UK had to quickly close down their services last March.
In the United States, this type of activity is also closely monitored, and companies must respect certain conditions in order to offer their ATMs. They must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and work with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which is responsible for combating money laundering.
SPAC companies, which are already under scrutiny, will now be subject to even greater scrutiny by the U.S. SEC, particularly with respect to sponsor compensation and conflicts of interest.
