Undaunted by the jump in bitcoin and the even worse price action for bitcoin tax companies Adam Back, CEO of the Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company (BSTR), says shareholder approval for a public listing could come as soon as April.
The public listing would come via a SPAC merger with Brandon Lutnick’s Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO).
BSTR intends to debut with 30,000 bitcoin on its balance sheet. Of the total amount, 25,000 coins will be contributed by Back and other founding shareholders. An additional 5,000 BTC will be contributed in kind by early investors.
The merger plans were announced in the summer of 2025 amid a frenzy of hastily formed crypto-finance companies hoping to emulate the success of Michael Saylor’s strategy.
Since then, however, the price of bitcoin has plummeted to $63,000, and the performance of crypto treasury companies has been far worse, with many prominent ones evaporating 90% or more of investor capital.
Speaking to CNBC on Monday, Back said a weaker bitcoin price could benefit BSTR ahead of its IPO. Launching at a lower reference price would allow the company to accumulate more bitcoin at discounted levels, potentially strengthening the balance sheet and increasing long-term upside if market conditions improve.
Regarding bitcoin’s recent decline, Back noted that it occurred despite what he characterized as a favorable regulatory backdrop in the United States. He attributed the pullback to broader macroeconomic factors, including geopolitical tensions and tariff-related uncertainty, which have weighed on risk assets more broadly.
Back added that bitcoin treasury companies play a supporting role in the market. Their core strategy centers on acquiring and holding bitcoin, although he acknowledged that the pace of accumulation typically slows during bear markets. Ultimately, he said, bitcoin tax companies are taking bitcoin out of the market, which is a long-term bullish catalyst.
