$1.5B Bitcoin treasury raise scrapped as SPAC vehicle loses its premium

A year ago, Adam Back’s Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company had a plan that looked almost elegant: merge with a Cantor Fitzgerald-backed SPAC, go public holding more than 30,000 BTC, and raise up to $1.5B in additional capital through a PIPE financing round to keep stacking sats at institutional scale. It was poised to become one of the largest public Bitcoin treasury vehicles on the planet.

BSTR and Cantor Equity Partners I (CEPO) formally announced on July 8 that they will not proceed with the original merger agreement. The PIPE financing has been canceled. The shareholder meeting has been postponed indefinitely. The companies say they’re seeking new terms.

What went wrong

When BSTR’s merger was first structured in July 2025, the deal economics made sense because the vehicle traded at a premium to its underlying Bitcoin holdings. Investors were willing to pay more than the net asset value of the Bitcoin inside the wrapper, which gave the SPAC structure its financial logic.

Then Bitcoin’s price fell. Roughly 40–50%, according to market reporting.