5 Aug 2025, 13:32

Litecoin Gains Momentum Amid ETF Speculation and MEI Pharma’s Corporate Treasury Investment

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5 Aug 2025, 13:32

CEPO: Waiting To Buy Adam Back's Bitcoin Treasury Company

Summary Adam Back's company is merging with Cantor Equity Partners I to form a Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company, holding over 30,000 bitcoin and $1.5B in PIPE financing. Bitcoin treasury companies are valued by Market Net Asset Value (mNAV), focusing on the market value of their bitcoin holdings minus debt. We can estimate the new entities market cap if it trades in line with a similar market cap ratio relative to mNav as Strategy. Early investors in CEPO lack clarity into the new entity's path to growing bitcoin per share as well as the shares outstanding in the new entity until the merger completes. Another day, another bitcoin treasury company. Weekly, sometimes daily, it seems another company makes it their strategy to build a bitcoin treasury or convert their balance sheet to holding bitcoin. Cantor Equity Partners II( CEPO ) has become one of the latest companies to announce that they will be reverse merging into a bitcoin treasury company with Adam Back as CEO . If you've been interested in bitcoin for any length of time, Adam Back's name might sound familiar. He was a pioneer in cryptography and one of the first proponents of bitcoin. Following a reverse merger, his company will be going to market with over 30 thousand bitcoin and $1.5 billion in "PIPE" financing. More on that later. Adam Back has been a fierce proponent of bitcoin for the freedom that it offers individuals who find themselves under assault from the traditional financial system. Although his money has always been where his mouth is, this furthers his commitment to advocating for and creating a bitcoin world. “ We are putting unprecedented firepower behind a single mission: Maximizing Bitcoin ownership per share while accelerating real-world Bitcoin adoption,” said Adam Back. Once the merger is completed, the company will appropriately be called Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company or BSTR Holdings, Inc. and trade under the ticker BSTR. Cantor Equity Partners and Twenty One Capital This announcement comes on the heels of the April 22 announcement that Cantor Equity Partners, not to be confused with Cantor Equity Partners I, would enter a definitive reverse merger agreement with CEO Jack Maller's newly formed Twenty One Capital. I wrote an article discussing that merger here . Cantor Fitzgerald's CEO, Brandon Lutnick made this comment regarding this second bitcoin treasury company reverse merger. As a long-time Bitcoin advocate, Cantor is incredibly proud to partner with Dr. Back, one of Bitcoin's leading luminaries, to launch BSTR. Bitcoin Standard Treasury Company "PIPE" Financing PIPE Financing stands for "Private Investment in Public Equity." Adam Backs' company has the potential for $1.5 billion in fiat PIPE financing from various sources. This is potentially three times as large as the PIPE financing obtained from the Cantor Equity Partners announcement which indicates a continued and potentially growing demand for bitcoin treasury investments. Here is a breakdown of BSTR's Pipe Financing. $400 million of common equity Up to $750 million in convertible senior notes Up to $350 million in convertible preferred stock In addition to this PIPE financing, there are other components that will make CEPO an investment lacking clarity prior to the merger. For example, there will be a potential for CEPO shareholders to convert their shares into shares of BSTR at a $10 per share conversion rate. There are several examples like this where the conversion rate and thus the number of shares will not be known until the merger is finalized. C-Suite Adam Back - Chief Executive Officer Adam Back was one of the original cryptographers and created Hashcash in 1997 as an attempt at creating digital money. His work on Hashcash later became cited within the bitcoin whitepaper. Then in 2014, Adam Back co-founded Blockstream which still operates today and focuses on a variety of strategies to grow the bitcoin ecosystem. Back became the CEO of Blockstream in October 2016. Sean Bill - Chief Investment Officer Sean Bill is currently also the Chief Investment Officer at Blockstream and will become the CIO alongside Adam Back at BSTR as well. Sean Bill had over three decades of experience before coming to Blockstream where he has worked alongside CEO Back to bridge bitcoin with traditional finance. Cantor Equity Partners I and their mNAV Bitcoin treasury companies have come to be valued by market analysts based on their mNAV or Market Net Asset Value. Market Net Asset Value is effectively valuing the company's balance sheet based on the market value of their assets less their debt. For example, Strategy( MSTR ), formerly known as Microstrategy, who just reported earnings on July 31, 2025 owns 628,791 bitcoins . Their stock currently trades at $366 per share. Based on the number of bitcoin they own, the market value of their bitcoin is 628,791 bitcoin x $113,000/bitcoin = ~$71 billion. Then subtracting debt of $14.4 billion, this gives them a mNAV of ~$56.6 billion. Strategy trades with a market cap of $114 billion giving them a valuation of ~2 times mNAV. CEPO expects to come to market with about 30,000 bitcoin which will give them an mNAV of ~$3.4 billion. By applying the same multiple, we can expect CEPO to have a market cap of about $6.8 billion. Difficulty Estimating BSTR Shares Outstanding After Merger In order to determine the value of a share of CEPO, you must know how many shares outstanding of BSTR there will be and what proportion of those shares will go to CEPO holders. But as you will see below, estimating the BSTR shares outstanding after the merger makes this a constantly moving target. $400 million in common equity priced at $10.00 per share implying 40 million shares. Up to $750 million in convertible senior notes, with $500 million committed and an option for an additional $250 million, convertible at $13.00 per share. Up to $350 million in convertible preferred stock, with $30 million committed and an option for an additional $320 million, also convertible at a common stock equivalent price of $13.00 per share. 5,021 Bitcoin in-kind PIPE priced at $10.00 per share. The number of shares will depend on bitcoin's price at time of conversion. 25,000 Bitcoin contributed by founding shareholders, priced at $10.00 per share. The number of shares will depend on bitcoin's price at time of conversion. Up to $200 million from CEPO, subject to shareholder redemptions, also priced at $10.00 per share. Again, it is unclear how many shares of BSTR this will convert into. As you can see, estimating the shares outstanding along with the number of shares that CEPO will convert into, is near impossible. Whereas, CEP had more straightforward terms as to how many shares would be created from the start. Cantor Equity Partners II & III So far, Cantor Equity Partners( CEP ) and Cantor Equity Partners I( CEPO ) have made announcements to become bitcoin treasury companies through strategic reverse mergers. As a sidenote, there are currently two more Cantor Equity Partners SPACs that trade publicly in the market. What are Cantor Equity Partners' plans for these companies? If you can follow the trend, one might expect them to also become bitcoin treasury companies after finding their Jack Mallers or Adam Back to steer the company. This creates the question, does buying these two public SPACs also present an opportunity or a risk for potential investors? That all depends on a person's risk tolerance as buying these tickers right now is pure speculation. Here is brief overview of the timing of the various Cantor Equity Partner SPACs IPOs and their merger announcement date, if they have had one. It may be a little self-serving, but Cantor has also recently come out with an analyst report noting their bullishness on bitcoin treasury companies. SPAC Name IPO Date Merger Announcement Date Cantor Equity Partners 8/13/2024 4/22/2025 Cantor Equity Partners I 1/7/2025 7/17/2025 Cantor Equity Partners II( CEPT ) 5/2/2025 TBD Cantor Equity Partners III( CAEP ) 6/26/2025 TBD Risks The risks of purchasing CEPO at this pre-merger stage are very similar to the risks I listed in my article about CEP . Owning Bitcoin By owning CEPO, you are owning a bitcoin treasury company which means you will be directly affected by bitcoin's price. If you don't think its a good idea to own bitcoin, then you shouldn't own CEPO. Business Strategy If you choose to invest in CEPO ahead of the reverse merger, you may be assuming more risk as it is unclear how BSTR plans to grow its bitcoin per share for its shareholders. Although Adam Back and Sean Bill have tremendous experience and connections, it would be a leap of faith to invest without understanding their business strategy. Conversion Ratios Like I spoke about above, there is a lot of ambiguity as to how many shares outstanding there will be after the reverse merger is completed. It depends on various factors which make it difficult. For example, around 5,000 of the bitcoin will be converted to BSTR at $10 per share and this makes the number of shares dependent upon the bitcoin price when BSTR is issued. Opportunity Cost As with any investment, there is the risk of investing one way and missing out on another. For example, by investing in CEPO, you might be missing out on investing in a more established bitcoin treasury company such as Strategy, which has a more established path forward. Market Saturation and Feedback Loops That Eventually End One risk to consider is the market saturation for bitcoin treasury companies. This is a risk that I don't consider a major risk as I believe there is ample demand for bitcoin remaining in the market and I expect each bitcoin treasury company to eventually find new ways to drive bitcoin yield, leveraging their own expertise to unlock new capital markets. And if they find new capital markets, then every other bitcoin treasury company shares in their success as the bitcoin price will likely respond positively. I see a synergistic positive feedback loop...until it stops. If companies begin overleveraging, using debt instruments to purchase more bitcoin, then perhaps investors will know they should begin to be more cautious. Although I don't think we are there yet, this is undoubtedly a risk and investors should understand it and proceed cautiously with that in mind. Conclusion My conclusion for CEPO is the same as it was for CEP. Without having more information on how Adam Back's company will earn a return on their bitcoin stack and increase bitcoin yield for investors, it is too early to recommend buying or selling CEPO and I rate it a hold. Furthermore, add to the uncertainty, it is unclear how many shares outstanding there will be after the merger is completed. I'd rather wait and see how many there will be before I try to understand the value of the shares. Strategy, or MSTR, remains the gold standard with an already well-established pipeline of financial products producing bitcoin yield for their shareholders. I believe it is wiser to invest in Strategy if you want to invest in a bitcoin treasury company. This is subject to change as these new bitcoin treasury companies establish their own strategies to access new capital to drive bitcoin yield for their shareholders.

5 Aug 2025, 13:27

ECB admits euro cash remains indispensable as demand averages over 2% annual growth

After leveling off during interest rate hikes, demand for cash in the eurozone is growing strong again, currently at an annual rate of 2.3%, the European Central Bank (ECB) has recognized. The acknowledgment comes with a new attempt to alleviate fears that the digital euro will replace traditional banknotes and coins that the majority of Europeans want to keep as a payment option. €5,000 worth of banknotes per capita circulating in the euro area Banknotes and coins will continue to play a crucial role, both as a means of payment and store of value, according to Piero Cipollone, member of the ECB’s Executive Board, who published a blog post on Monday devoted to the future of paper and metal money in the eurozone. Euro bills in circulation exceed 30 billion, with their total value reaching €1.6 trillion ($1.85 trillion), the official highlighted in his article. He continued by explaining why paper money is still indispensable and how the monetary authority is working to ensure it remains available in the common currency area. “After plateauing when we raised interest rates – which made it less attractive for people to hold large of amounts of savings in cash – these figures are growing again, currently at an annual rate of 2.3% in terms of volume and 1.7% in terms of value,” Cipollone detailed, elaborating: “To put it into perspective: almost €5,000 worth of banknotes are currently in circulation for each euro area citizen.” To back the quoted figures, the ECB executive referred to a chart indicating that euro banknotes circulating in the eurozone economy have been increasing since early 2024 and are now nearing the all-time high set in 2022. Euro banknotes in circulation are rising steadily. The latest observations are for June 2025. Source: ECB With the exception of the Covid-19 years when digital payments spiked, paper euros have been multiplying since the financial crisis of 2008, when their value was a little over €600 billion. According to a survey conducted by the ECB in 2024, having the option to pay with cash remains very or fairly important for some 62% of the euro area population. That majority has expanded by 2 percentage points over the 2022 poll. Piero Cipollone noted: “Europeans want to retain the option to pay with cash, so they expect it to remain available in the future … Cash is also used as a store of value and demand for it has stayed strong across age groups.” Cash to remain relevant, especially in times of crisis Besides the surge of non-cash payments, boosted by the pandemic, the upcoming digital euro has also fueled concerns about the future of physical notes on the Old Continent. This past spring, ECB President Christine Lagarde announced that the monetary policy regulator aims to finalize preparations for the new coin’s launch by October 2025. The European Central Bank and the European Commission have been developing strategies to preserve euro cash and adapt it to the future, Cipollone remarked. Among them, he listed the Legal Tender of Cash Regulation, designed to protect the status of euro banknotes and coins as a means of payment, and the Digital Euro Regulation. The two legislative proposals should ensure that Europe’s central bank digital currency will complement rather than replace European cash, “enhancing the range of payment options available by offering cash in both physical and digital forms.” This will strengthen Europe’s autonomy in payments, the ECB board member is convinced. Cash will remain “highly relevant” and continue to exist alongside other payment methods, he added. Cipollone also pointed to the importance of keeping cash available in times of emergencies when its alternatives are unable to completely replace it in certain respects. “The recent power blackout in the Iberian Peninsula once again demonstrated that cash, being independent of technology, can always be relied on,” he highlighted. Cryptopolitan Academy: Coming Soon - A New Way to Earn Passive Income with DeFi in 2025. Learn More

5 Aug 2025, 13:22

BitMine’s Largest Ethereum Treasury Highlights Growing Institutional Interest and Potential Macro Trends

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5 Aug 2025, 13:18

Litecoin Hits Five-Month High Amid ETF Optimism and $100M MEI Pharma Treasury

Analysts told Decrypt though ETF approval rumors are adding to optimism, it’s MEI Pharma’s buy-in last month that is really pushing the surge.

5 Aug 2025, 13:18

Bitcoin Treasury Firm Semler Scientific Still Has 3X Upside: Benchmark

Semler Scientific (SMLR) is trading just above the market value of its bitcoin holdings, with a market NAV (mNAV) of 1.04, highlighting what broker Benchmark calls a significant valuation disconnect. Markets, argued analyst Mark Palmer following the company's second quarter earnings yesterday, are giving "virtually no credit for [Semler's] ample room to use 'intelligent leverage' to add to its bitcoin holdings." Reiterating his buy rating and $101 price target — or nearly triple the current price of $35 — Palmer said there's much "upside optionality" not priced into the stock. Unlike other bitcoin treasury firms that lean on aggressive equity issuance, Semler is embracing a “slow money” approach, wrote Palmer. Newly appointed Director of Bitcoin Strategy Joe Burnett laid out a plan to scale bitcoin holdings through a mix of operating cash flow, low-cost convertible debt, and selective at-the-money (ATM) issuances, all aimed at preserving shareholder value and avoiding dilution. The company holds $100M in 4.25% convertible notes due 2030 and, according to management, has significant headroom to issue long-term, bitcoin-backed debt to amplify equity upside, the report noted. As of July 31, Semler held 5,021 bitcoin with a $475.8 million cost basis and a market value of $586.2 million, reflecting a $110.4 million unrealized gain and a 31.3% year-to-date BTC yield. Management remains confident in reaching its target of 10,000 BTC by year-end 2025, and long-term goals of 42,000 BTC by 2026 and 105,000 by 2027. Benchmark’s $101 target is based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis incorporating the expected future value of Semler’s bitcoin treasury alongside its healthcare operations, including the emerging CardioVanta unit. The stock, trading near its bitcoin net asset value (NAV), reflects little premium for its strategic flexibility, a gap Benchmark believes will close as the company executes on its capital strategy. Read more: Semler Scientific Becomes 14th-Largest Public Bitcoin Holder After $25M BTC Buy